The Call
by Beledi1113
Summary: Kate takes the job in Washington, D.C.; Alexis is in Costa Rica; and Martha is doing summer stock in upper state New York. Rick is kidnapped and no one is at home to take the call about the ransom demands.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this has been done before, but this plot bunny popped into my head last night after the season 5 finale. Can't say I really liked the ending because it felt forced. This is a fix-it story – sort of. I promise I'll get back to "The Offer" after this story is done because it hopefully won't be too long.

Also sorry that the POV breaks didn't show up. They are in the original version and I keep adding them and then uploading the edited chapter again, but they keep not showing up. And thanks for the reviews - you guys rock.

Disclaimer – don't own Castle, just write for fun. Marlowe and ABC own Castle.

Summary – Kate takes the job in Washington, D.C.; Alexis is in Costa Rica; and Martha is doing summer stock in Upstate New York. Rick is kidnapped and no one is at home to take the call about the ransom demands.

# # # # # # # # # # #

The Call – Chapter 1

Castle stared over the steering wheel of the Ferrari, not really paying attention to the scenery as he drove wherever his car was taking him. Kate had turned him down – not outright, but her answer to his marriage proposal had been a "Not yet." She felt the proposal was forced, that his heart really wasn't into it, whatever that meant. He should be happy when he asked her, not desperate, not angry, and definitely not asking her when his back was against the wall. He should ask when he really truly wanted her.

The problem was that he really truly wanted her but he was also desperate and unhappy – he didn't want to lose her, to lose what they had together. And she didn't want to lose him, but apparently he wasn't enough for her.

He had let her walk away from the swing set and had never gone back to the 12th – he had no reason to go back there anymore after Kate accepted the job offer in D.C., not even to say goodbye to the others.

Several days later, he dropped Alexis off at the airport for her trip to Costa Rica without telling her what had happened, although she knew something was wrong. Martha was directing a summer stock production in Upstate New York for the summer; true to her mother's instinct, she had known what had happened. The final thing she said to him was that they would find their way, kiddo.

So he simply turned off his cell phone, got in his car, and started driving. He couldn't go to the Hamptons because of the memories of Kate and him there. His plan was to go somewhere to think and then be back in plenty of time to pick Alexis up from her trip.

Castle finally paid attention to the blinking red light on the dashboard that indicated if he didn't get gas immediately, he would have a long walk in front of him, so he pulled into the dilapidated gas station in the middle of nowhere.

A man in a dirty attendant's uniform came out to greet him. "Fill 'er up, sir?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," Castle said as he got out of the car and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of his back. How long had he been driving anyway? "Restroom?" he asked.

"Around the back – the key's inside."

"Thanks," Castle replied as he walked into the store. He asked an equally scruffy-looking attendant at the desk for the restroom key and headed in the direction that the man pointed. When he opened the door, he almost balked at going in, but he finished quickly and walked out without gagging too much.

Realizing that it had been a while since he had eaten, Castle picked up several items in the store and walked to the counter to pay. He pulled out his wallet and leafed through the bills he had.

If he hadn't been so lost in thought, he would have noticed the man at the counter eying the contents of his wallet and then nodding at the man outside.

"Here's your change," said the man as the outside attendant came into the store. "Where you headed?"

Castle shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"Well, have a safe trip," the man said as Castle started to walk through the door. "Oh, hey, you forgot your drink."

Castle turned back around and then paused, realizing his drink was in the sack in his hand. That was the last thing he remembered as the outside attendant pressed a stun gun into his back.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Alexis paused as the doorman to their building opened the front door to let her enter.

"Good afternoon, Miss Alexis. It's nice to have you back. How was your trip?" he asked.

"Wonderful, Mr. Brewster," said Alexis, "but it's great to be home."

"I'll get the rest of your bags," Brewster replied. "And you have several packages at the concierge's desk."

"Thanks, Mr. Brewster," Alexis said, smiling. The trip had been great but she really missed being home. She thought her dad knew when she was coming in and would be at the airport to greet her, but after waiting an hour and making several calls to his phone which he never picked up, she decided to take a taxi home.

She stopped by the concierge's desk. "Hi, I'm Alexis Castle. You have some packages for me?"

"Oh, yes, Ms. Castle," said the cute young man behind the desk. "Let me get your packages." He quickly returned with two packages, one in a sealed plastic bag. "Sorry," he said as he handed her the packages. "This one started stinking several days after it came in. It wasn't marked perishable, but we put it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator."

"Thanks," said Alexis, taking the packages from him, their eyes lingering for a moment until a quick "Ahem" from Mr. Brewster caused them to blink.

"Miss Alexis, this is my nephew, Matthew. He's on break from college and he'll be working here through the summer."

"Thanks, Matthew," said Alexis, blushing slightly. "Mr. Brewster, have you see my dad? I thought he was going to pick me up from the airport."

"No, I haven't, but I've been out for a while."

"Thanks," said Alexis. "It's probably nothing. Can you let me up? I thought he'd be picking me up, so I didn't bring my fob with me."

"Sure thing," Mr. Brewster said, walking to the elevator with her and then waving his fob at the controls inside the car. "I'll bring your bags up shortly."

"Thanks," Alexis said again as the doors slid shut.

The loft was quiet as Alexis unlocked the door and walked in.

"Dad?" she called loudly. "Are you home?"

She frowned as she walked around, noticing that it looked like no one had been home for a while. That was confirmed when she opened the refrigerator door and found the curdled milk and old take-out cartons.

She pulled out her phone and thumbed through her messages again. Were her dad and Kate in the Hamptons and had called her to let her know? But there weren't any messages from him or Kate at all.

Alexis quickly dialed the number she had for Kate, but it went to voice mail. "Hi, Kate – this is Alexis. I just got back and was wondering if my father was with you. He's not home and I don't know where he is. Call me please."

Her grandmother was still in upper state New York for summer stock, so she probably wouldn't know where her father was.

Alexis walked into Castle's office and quickly opened his computer and checked for the last time he had been on. It was obvious he hadn't written in a while because the last date was the day before she had left for Costa Rica. But he didn't have any chapters due for another month and preferred to write at the last minute anyway – said he did his best work then.

Alexis walked back into the kitchen where she had set the packages and opened the first one. Her eyes grew wide and her face grew paler as she read the note inside and looked at the phone. With trembling hands, she unsealed the bag the second package was in and quickly opened it and then screamed.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Lanie had just started on the autopsy for that morning's body drop when her phone rang.

"Dr. Parish," she answered, only to find a hysterical Alexis on the other end. "Whoa – slow down, Alexis – what's happened?"

"It's Dad – I can't get ahold of Kate!" the terrified girl screamed into the phone.

"Are you at the loft, honey?" Lanie asked. "Is he hurt?" Seeing that she was getting no response other than sobbing, Lanie said, "I'm sending someone over right now. Ryan, Espo, and I will be there in 15 minutes."

Two police cars with lights on were parked outside of Castle's building when Lanie, Espo, and Ryan arrived at the loft. Alexis sat outside in the hallway, wrapped in a blanket, quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking.

Lanie knelt beside her as Espo and Ryan went inside. "Hey, Alexis," she said. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"On the counter," Alexis sobbed, not raising her head. "It's on the counter."

Lanie nodded at the police woman who stood near Alexis and went inside to find a grim-faced Espo and Ryan.

"These were in the boxes," Espo said, motioning to the notes and phone on the counter. He held up a small plastic bag. "And this was in there too."

Lanie's eyes widened as she looked at the severed finger in the bag.

"Castle was kidnapped about five weeks ago," said Ryan flatly. "There wasn't anyone home to take the ransom demand."

"Oh, no," Lanie said. She quickly walked back into the hallway and knelt by Alexis, stroking her hair. "We'll find him, sweetie," she said softly.

Alexis nodded slowly. "I tried Detective Bec – Kate – but she didn't answer. Why didn't she know about this?"

"Oh, honey," said Lanie, sadly. "Kate's not here – she took a job in Washington, D.C., and moved there 6 weeks ago."

# # # # # # # # # # #

Beckett stared out the window of her office. The job was great – it was all that she imagined and more – but it still felt slightly off. For the first couple of weeks here, she had called Castle several times, but he never returned her calls and his mailbox was now full, so she had quit trying. What he said was true; they were over. Her heart did a quiet flip-flop. This wasn't the way she wanted it to end – she had truly thought they were forever, no matter what. She quickly squelched the feeling as she turned her attention to the files on her desk.

One of them required her supervisor's signature so she checked his calendar and saw that he was in his office now.

She picked up the file and quickly walked out the door, pausing slightly when she noticed conversations quickly stopping and people looking extremely busy as she walked by. This had been happening more and more frequently for the last week. She knew she was good, but had she done something wrong? Did she have some type of secret mark on her back?

Kate knocked on her supervisor's door. "Mr. Gonzales, if you have a moment, I have a file I need you to sign."

She handed the man the file, which he quickly signed and returned to her. She turned to go and then turned back. "If I could have a word with you, sir," she said as she shut the door.

"What's on your mind, Agent Beckett?" Gonzales said, leaning back in his seat.

"Sir, have I done something wrong?" Kate asked outright. "Is there some problem with my performance?"

Gonzales studied her for a moment. "No, we're quite pleased with the initiative you've shown so far."

"Then, sir, what is the problem? In the last week, people have started avoiding me. They quit talking when I show up and they stare. Have I broken some unwritten rule?"

Gonzales paused a moment longer. "No, you haven't done anything. The problem is not with your performance, but who you are."

"Sir?" asked Kate, confused.

Gonzales paused a moment longer and then took a file out of his drawer. "We recently took over this case due to its high-profile nature. It's a kidnapping case, possibly a murder case, and due to unfortunate circumstances, the trail has grown cold."

"But, sir, what does that have to do with me?"

"Because the victim is Richard Castle."


	2. Chapter 2

Again, thanks for reviewing. You guys are great. And hopefully the POV markers will show up this time.

Disclaimer – Still don't own Castle or write for the show. Marlowe and ABC do. This is just for those little plot bunnies that pop into my brain at night when I'm trying to sleep and then multiply.

# # # # #

The Call – Chapter 2

The first thing that Kate noticed was all of the air being sucked out of the room and she thought she was going to suffocate. She spent several moments wheezing, just trying to catch her breath, before Gonzales pushed her down in a chair and stuck her head between her knees to keep her from passing out.

Yes, his instincts were still good – these two were definitely an item. They had run a preliminary background check on Castle before inviting Beckett on the interview, and it had come back clean for terroristic behavior. As for the other behaviors noted in the report, he would reserve judgment until he met the man in person.

"Agent Beckett, are you all right?" Gonzales asked after a few minutes.

Kate slowly sat up and ran a hand through her hair. "When – when did it happen?"

Gonzales paused a minute before responding. "Approximately seven weeks ago. His daughter only discovered it last week when she returned from a trip out of the country. The NYPD has been on the case since then and Jordan Shaw asked us to step in a few days ago because of the multiple jurisdictions that may be involved."

"Who's working this?" Kate asked, gearing up to answer any questions they had, thinking of what she had to do first.

Gonzales sat on the edge of his desk. "Agent Beckett, for the record I have to ask you what your relationship to Richard Castle is."

Tucking her hair behind her right ear, Beckett thought a moment before replying. "Before I came here, he asked me to marry him. But we postponed that decision for a while."

"Then you're not in a legally-binding relationship, such as a common-law marriage," Gonzales stated, "and you are not an immediate family member."

Kate stared at the man, not sure what he was getting at. "No," she said finally. "We're not and I'm not, but what difference does that make?"

"Then, I'm sorry, Agent Beckett, I cannot discuss any further details of this case with you. At the request of the family, we are only discussing details with the various agencies assigned to the case and immediate family members."

Shocked, Beckett sat there a moment longer. "But, sir," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Beckett – those are the rules." Gonzales walked back to his chair and sat down. "However, I suggest you take the rest of the day off. And, Agent Beckett, this is a direct order not to contact our agents working the case. Doing so could lead to immediately dismissal from this agency."

Beckett sat there for a few more minutes, trying to wrap her head around what Gonzales had just said, and then walked out of his office and, a few minutes later, the building without looking back.

# # # # # # # # #

The trip to the hotel she was staying at had been quick and uneventful. She was supposed to be looking for a more permanent place to live, but hadn't had time yet with training and meetings. To tell the truth, everything had just felt wrong also – she didn't feel at home here.

Beckett quickly picked up her phone and pushed one of the speed dial numbers. She needed answers and she knew who to call for them.

# # # # # # # # # #

Espo looked at the caller ID on his phone as it rang and glanced at Ryan. "It's her," he said as the Irish detective walked over to Espo's desk. They understood that she thought she had moved to a more desirable position and the power that came with it, but it still stung a little that she didn't talk with them first and gave them less than a week's notice about the change. And it just wasn't the same without her and Castle around, annoying as he could be. They also knew that things had ended badly between them, especially when Castle didn't show up at the Old Haunt for the impromptu going-away party they had for Beckett the night before she left.

The few phone conversations they had since Kate had moved had been brief and almost pointless. Kate would inquire how things were in New York, how Jenny was feeling, and they'd ask her about D.C., but she hadn't done much other than work which she couldn't discuss and they in turn couldn't discuss their cases with her.

"Hello, Agent Beckett," Espo answered formally, setting the tone for the call and putting the call on speaker phone.

"Javi, why didn't you tell me about Castle?" Kate demanded, gathering the top of her hair back in her hand as she paced the room.

"You're not an immediate member of his family," Espo said, leaving out the part that she could have easily been. "And apparently you're not working the case for the AG; otherwise you wouldn't have called."

"Look, Javi, don't give me that. Is Ryan there with you?"

"What can we help you with, Agent Beckett?" answered Ryan.

"Kevin, not you too?" Kate questioned. "How long have you known?"

"Known what?" asked Ryan.

"You know what I'm talking about. Castle – and you didn't call me?" Kate implored. "They won't give me the files here. How can I do anything if I don't know what's going on?"

"Kate…" Ryan waffled, only to be given the eye by Espo.

"Javi, Kevin," Kate pleaded, "we've done this before. Ignored orders when it made sense. How is this any different now?"

"That's the problem, Agent Beckett. It is different now," Espo stated plainly. "You're not family any more. You're a federal agent and Castle's not your partner. So, no, we won't send you the files or talk to you about this case. If that's all you need, Agent Beckett?"

Kate stared at the phone for a moment before her temper got the better of her. "I tell you this right now, Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan," Beckett said in the dangerously quiet tone she used with recalcitrant suspects. "Castle is my partner and I will move heaven and earth to find him." The line went dead.

Ryan and Espo looked at the phone for a moment and then high-fived each other, smiling.

"Good job, bro – thought you were going to cave there for a minute," Espo said, sitting back in his chair. This didn't mean that he'd let Beckett off the hook any time soon – her departure had stung and left a hole in their team – and he would make sure that she knew.

But the FBI and AU agents assigned to the case were moving too slowly in his opinion. Now that Beckett had gotten her butt thoroughly kicked, something was bound to shake loose.

# # # # # # # # # #

Later that night, it was no surprise to Captain Gates to find Beckett sitting on her front porch, waiting for her to come home.

"Sir," Beckett said, standing up to meet her. "I want my job at the precinct back."

Gates regarded her for a long minute. "I assume you've thought about what you're giving up."

"Yes, I know what I'm giving up, and no, I'm not giving up anything," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I'm going to get back what I've lost."

Gates nodded slowly. "Then report to the bullpen tomorrow morning, Detective Beckett. And it's good to have you back."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: Thanks to all of you who have liked this story and sent reviews and PMs – you guys are awesome. And sorry for the delay in updating – real life is really strange right now which doesn't leave much time for writing. Yes, everything will be explained in due time. Also, if you see mistakes and let me know, such as wrong character names from the show or wrong references to actual places (such as Upstate New York), I'll fix those and repost the chapter. That's just the tech writer in me. BTW, some of the towns in this story are fictional, as are all of the characters. Rated for language and implied violence.

Disclaimer – don't own Castle; Andrew Marlowe, etc. do; but if I did, I could spend all my time writing about it.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The Call – Chapter 3

Lanie was waiting at the door of her apartment when Kate knocked. She had run Espo off for the evening after Kate had called her, saying that she was back.

"Hey, girl," Lanie said, grabbing her friend in a tight hug.

"Lanie, everything is so messed up and I don't know how to fix it," Kate said, returning the hug.

The ME held her at arm's length. "Kate Beckett, you are one of the most resourceful people I know. I'm sure you'll think of a way." She picked up Kate's bag and walked her in to the apartment. "But it's going to take some time. Javi won't talk about it, but the boys were really hurt when you left so quickly. And then the whole thing with Castle… You can stay here as long as you need. And Javi said to meet them at the Loft tomorrow morning for an update with Martha and Alexis." She poured each of them a glass of wine. "But, Kate, I need to tell you something first – about what was in the second package."

# # # # # # # # # #

Kate was waiting at the concierge desk the next morning when Espo and Ryan arrived to update Martha and Alexis with the latest findings.

"Morning, Detective Beckett," Espo and Ryan nodded at her as they walked to the elevator. The ride up was quiet with each one looking straight ahead.

After they stepped out of the elevator, the boys stopped Beckett in the hallway.

"You need to let us talk to Martha and Alexis first," Espo said. "You know, pave the way for your return. Iron over some hard feelings."

"Just wait out here," Ryan said. "We'll be back in a minute."

Martha looked tired when she opened the door to greet them. "Good morning, boys," she said, giving each of them a hug.

"How are you and Alexis doing today?" asked Ryan.

"We've been better. It was a long night," Martha said as she ushered them into the kitchen. "Is there any news today?"

"Well," said Ryan, "we do have a new person working the case. And we thought we'd bring them by this morning."

Martha sighed. "It's been so long – do you think it will do any good?"

Espo nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, we think it will make a difference. In fact, you know her." He walked over to the door and motioned for Beckett to come in.

"Oh, Kate, darling," said Martha, walking over to her and giving her a hug. "It's so good to see you again."

Kate hugged her back. "Martha, why didn't you call me?"

Martha smiled sadly at her. "I would have, but—"

"What's she doing here?" Alexis spat out icily as she stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Alexis, dear – " started Martha.

"No – I said no," Alexis said, shaking her head vehemently. "I don't want her working this case – she has no right to be here." The red-head strode over to where Beckett stood and gave her a resounding slap across the face. "I thought you weren't like the others. I thought you and Dad had something special. But you know what, you spent the last 5 years hurting my dad and then you finally broke his heart completely when you said 'No' and that's why he's not here. I blame you and I'll never forgive you."

Stunned, holding a hand to her stinging cheek, Kate could only watch as Alexis ran back upstairs, crying. She looked over at Espo and Ryan, who merely shrugged.

"Martha, I'm so sorry. Alexis is right – I don't have any right to be here. I'll go. I can get what I need at the precinct."

Martha shook her head. "No, dear, I took Alexis' feelings into consideration when this first started and wouldn't let them call you, but you're here now and you're my son's best chance. I want you on this case even if Alexis doesn't." Martha took a breath. "I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you and Richard."

Kate looked at Martha questioningly – maybe this was the reason for the chilly reception she was getting? "Martha, what did Alexis mean – when I said 'No'?" As far as she knew, neither she nor Castle talked about what had happened with anyone else.

"Oh, dear, you know how Richard gets when he's focused on something – he gets blinders on and doesn't see what's going on around him." Martha walked over to the counter and pulled out a large manila envelope. "That day when you and Richard talked before you left – there was a photographer in the park. Gina intercepted the photos and paid the man off before they could be published."

Kate thumbed through the pictures slowly as they brought the day back to her – them sitting on the swings; Rick suddenly down on one knee, then getting back up and pocketing the ring and walking away, tears on his face; Kate sitting on the swing a moment longer before she too started weeping. The problem was that the pictures didn't tell the whole story, even though it was closer to the truth than she liked to admit.

"Martha, we really didn't break up," Kate said lamely. "We decided to talk about it later when both of us had clearer heads."

"The problem is that you didn't talk, Kate," Martha chided softly. "You left for Washington and Rick left for parts unknown. Darling, love isn't about having clear heads – it's about having passionate hearts and the willingness to follow them and let someone in." Martha gestured at the pictures. "And you did leave without taking the ring. This is what it looks like to the outside world."

That part was true – when they parted, Castle still had the ring. She had said 'Not yet' at the time, but not because she didn't want to be with him. Castle was still mad and hurt that she had lied about the job interview and she was scared as to how far she could really let him in – in her book, that didn't bode well for any relationship, no matter what stage it was at.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Coffee in hand, Beckett walked into the homicide bullpen later that morning, not to the warm applause and smiles that had greeted her when she returned after being shot, but to quick surreptitious glances as the officers went about their routines.

Espo and Ryan had arrived before her and were arguing animatedly with two federal agents in one of the conference rooms. They stopped arguing when she and Gates walked in.

"Gentlemen," said Gates, "now that Detective Beckett is back, she's taking point on this case. I expect you to give her your full cooperation." Gates nodded at Beckett and walked out of the room.

Beckett surveyed the board they had set up. "Bring me up to speed on what you have so far," she said, getting down to business.

Agent Weaver walked over to the white board. "Day 1 is the day we assume Castle left town. He saw his daughter off at the airport and then made a call to his publisher saying that he would be out of town for a while," he said, pointing at the timeline.

"Then, eight days later – day 9," he said, pointing to the second mark, "the first package arrived at his residence and was kept in the package room for pickup. The next package arrived five days after the first. Both were addressed 'To the folks at…', not to a specific person as we would expect in a kidnapping case. The first package was postmarked in Lansing, Michigan and contained a burner phone." He paused for a moment. "The second was postmarked in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and contained a finger."

Beckett swallowed quickly and nodded for him to continue. Lanie had told her about the finger last night – it wasn't Castle's, but she couldn't identify who it belonged to.

"We ran fingerprints and DNA on the phone and packages," Agent Weaver continued, "but there are no matches in the system."

"There were 2 messages on the phone's voice mail," said Agent Sierra. "The first was the initial ransom demand with details on how to make contact; the second was the follow-up demand as to why contact hadn't been made. We immediately called the number after the packages were open, but there was no answer. We have tried several times a day since then but the service was suspended last week, so obviously this was a burner phone with a month contract. We sent alerts to the police stations in Michigan, but they haven't gotten anything yet. His publisher asked that we keep this as low key as possible; otherwise, we could be flooded with numerous false leads."

"And it wouldn't be too good for book sales," muttered Kate under her breath. "Where's the phone and the voice mails?" she asked.

"In the tech lab to see if they can pull out anything further."

"I want to hear the voice mails," Beckett said.

"Ummm – we have transcripts," said Kevin, picking up several pieces of paper off of the table and glancing at Espo. "They can tell you everything that's on the voice mails."

"Gentlemen," Kate said firmly. "That's not good enough. I want to hear the voice mails myself."

Not waiting, Kate walked to the door and then looked back. "Are you coming?"

# # # # # # # # # #

Technical specialist Risner pulled up the first voice mail on the computer. "This is the initial demand. You can clearly hear 2 people in the room. There is another person in the room, which we assume is Mr. Castle, but what he is saying is muffled." Risner clicked the mouse and the call came over the speakers.

"Yo, dudes – we got your guy. We want $500,000 in cash – small bills only. Call this number if you want to see him alive. You got 2 days." The recording ended.

"In the second call, we've been able to isolate Castle's voice better and determine what he is saying," said Risner.

The same voice came over the speakers, this time angrier. "Hey – shit heads – what is wrong with you? Are you deaf? Call or your guy dies. We want our money."

Risner clicked the second track on screen. "This is Mr. Castle in the background."

Kate leaned toward the speaker to listen to what Castle was yelling. It was still muffled, but most of what he said could be made out.

"Hey, Darwin – I told you that there wouldn't be anyone there who could open the packages for 7 weeks. I leased the house to Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham for the summer. They aren't going to open any of my mail."

Risner stopped the playback at Ryan's nod. "Castle is obviously stalling for time. He knew that Alexis would be back in 6 weeks, not 7. We ran Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham through all of our databases, but haven't had any hits. They also aren't characters in any of Castle's books. He probably wanted to make it seem like the loft wasn't empty in case the kidnappers got any ideas."

Kate nodded, frowning slightly. "Let's hear the rest of the voice mail."

Risner paused before continuing, looking at Espo and Ryan for permission.

The voice continued. "Shut pretty boy up – shut him up now. Listen, shit heads, you have two days to call. And as a reminder, I'll be sending you a present."

In the background, they could hear a loud snap and then the same agonized scream Castle had made when he broke his knee skiing.

"If you don't want more presents," the man continued, "pay up."

Kate stood still for a moment, her lips pressed into a thin line as the call ended abruptly.

"And they haven't called again or sent any more boxes?" she asked quietly.

"No," said Agent Weaver. "Detective, this case has been cold for more than a month. Statistically speaking, at this point, we don't expect a good outcome."

Beckett nodded. "Excuse me," she said stiffly. "I'll be back in 5 minutes."

She walked quickly out of the lab without looking at Espo and Ryan and ducked into the first women's restroom she could find. After she locked the door, she slid down the wall and huddled on the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs, rocking from side to side. He is okay, he is okay, she kept repeating over and over again, trying to control the shaking in her body and her ragged breathing. Beckett sat there, rocking, giving this terrified feeling 5 minutes of life before she angrily squelched it down and stood. This wasn't going to help get Castle back.

Looking at the mirror, she ran a hand through her hair and thought. Castle must have known what would have happened when he yelled at the men, so it must have meant something to him. But what? She just had to figure out what he was telling her.

Beckett quickly walked back into the tech lab. "Play that last part for me again," Beckett demanded. She listened carefully – Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham – where did she know those names from? Could it be? She smiled at the men in the room. "No, you wouldn't recognize the names because that's a message that Castle sent specifically to me about where he thinks he is."

Beckett flipped out her phone and quickly hit the speed dial for Martha's number.

"Martha – this is Kate. Where are the notes about the Civil War book that Rick was thinking of writing – Done to a Turn?"

"Oh, no, dear – did he make you read that?" Martha's voice sounded slightly horrified.

"More of a personal performance," replied Kate, thinking of the night that Rick pulled the monstrosity out and read through all of the characters in accent. Except for the subject, it had been surprisingly morbidly funny. "I'll send someone over to pick it up immediately."

Beckett disconnected the call and then turned to the men in the room. "Please arrange to have the book picked up from Mrs. Rogers and get me a map of Virginia. Detectives Ryan, Esposito, a moment of your time."

She led them to an empty room and shut the door before turning to face them.

"I admit that I made a mistake in how I handled the whole job situation and Castle," Kate said. "I could have handled it much better."

"Well, at least you could have clued us in," said Espo.

"And this is my apology. But now, man up and get over it, because I'm tired of playing games. You wasted at least week of Rick's life in the hands of those maniacs by not calling me. And if you ever lock me out of a case again, I will rip off your testicles and shove them down your throats." Kate looked at each detective. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," they said in unison.

"Good – now let's go find Castle."

# # # # # # # # # #

Beckett was sitting at her desk going over the map when a quiet voice interrupted here. "Detective Beckett," said Alexis, looking anxious, holding a large folder. "Grams said you needed this, so I brought it over."

She put the folder on the desk. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior early. I shouldn't have done that." She looked down and then looked at Kate with tears in her eyes. "It's just that I'm so scared," she whispered. "In Paris – before things happened, they were going to kill my father and he was there because of me and I couldn't do anything. I feel the same way now – like I can't do anything that will help. And I can't lose my dad, Kate, I just can't," the red-headed pleaded.

Beckett stood and wrapped her arms around Alexis. "And I can't lose him either," Kate said softly.

She released Alexis and then picked up the folder. "But now we can do something," Kate said as she took the manuscript out of the folder and handed Alexis part of the book. "Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham – I need to know where they are from."

They quickly thumbed through the manuscript, before Alexis shouted, "Ashleyville – they're from Ashleyville, Virginia."

"Then that's where we start." Beckett picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Rhonda, get me the police chief in Ashleyville, Virgina."

# # # # # # # # # #


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome. And real life stays strange right now.

This chapter has a warning about Castle endangerment, language, and violence.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional.

# # # # # # # #

Pain – thirst – hunger.

The first time Castle awoke, his head was throbbing and his back hurt. He slowly blinked his eyes open, coughing at the acrid smell of smoke that hung heavy in the air. He tried to cover his nose and mouth with his hands only to find that they were shackled over his head. He gave the chain a heavy yank, but that just resulted in a painful back spasm.

Castle frowned as he surveyed his surroundings, a charred cabin barely discernible by the dim light from the fire in the fireplace. Where in the hell was he and how did he get here?

"Well, look who's awake – Mr. Richard Castle," drawled a voice menacingly from the shadows. "Mr. rich New York City. You think you're all fancy, comin' down here in your expensive car and throwin' your money around? Well, you know what we do to rich New Yorkers down here?"

The man was suddenly in Castle's face, pressing a knife into his throat just enough to break the skin and slowly dragging it down. "We—" And then the words were just as suddenly cut off as the man yelped and was dragged away from Castle by his hair.

"Ass hole – what don't you understand about not letting him see your face?" hissed a second man who had just come inside.

"But, Clyde," whined the first man. "It's not like it's gonna do him any good."

"Oh, great – and now he knows my name. Why don't you just give him my address too, Billy?" Clyde walked over and squatted next to Castle, fingering his driver's license. "So, Mr. rich New Yorker – how much do you think we can get for you? I'm thinking at least $250,000."

Castle nodded. "At least that," he quickly agreed.

"Good – now who do I call to ask for all this money? Your cell phone doesn't have a call log or any contacts, so who's gonna pay to get you back?"

"Well," said Castle, "you could try my ex-wife, but she gets all of my money anyway so she may not be very helpful."

"Women," said Clyde, smiling. "They just be bitches sometimes." Suddenly he grabbed Castle by the throat, slowly squeezing, cutting off his air. "But she may not want you back in pieces. What's her name and number?"

Castle finally nodded slightly as the edges of his vision were turning black. He spent several moments gasping in air and coughing before he answered hoarsely. "Gina at 212-555-7296."

"Good boy," said Clyde, patting his face and then standing. "Hey, you want somethin' to drink? We've got some good stuff here that will really put hair on your chest." He pulled out a jug and then took a swig before walking back to Castle. He yanked Castle's head back and poured the liquid fire down his throat. He kept pouring until Castle finally gagged and brought back up everything that had gone down.

Clyde stood, laughing. "You city folks – can't keep liquor down either." He swiftly kicked Castle in the side before walking back to the fireplace and sitting down on a stump.

Eyes squeezed shut, Castle leaned back against the wall and waited for the room to stop spinning and his stomach to settle. Had all his bad karma decided to visit him now? He could just hear the other writers in the poker group.

"So she turned you down – big deal," said Connelly, shrugging, looking at his cards. "And you left town like some mongrel with its tail tucked between its legs, telling people that you needed time and went off grid. Grow a pair, Castle – and come up with new characters. We all know who Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are. It's just weird reading about you and Becket, especially the sex scenes."

"And then you stop to buy gas at a station that looks like it's from _The_ _Cabin in the Woods_ – hell, it could be the station from _The Cabin in the Woods_," said Patterson. "Along with two weirdoes from _Deliverance_. That's usually when the suspenseful music starts so the audience knows what's coming. Don't you have a clue, Castle?"

Cannell shook his head, studying his hand and chips. "And then you believed their story that they could only take cash because their credit card machine was down? Haven't we taught you any better than that? Get your head in the game." He pushed all of his chips forward. "Well, Castle – are you in or out? I'm calling your bluff."

No, wait, thought Castle suddenly – Cannell was dead. And that's what he was going to be unless he was very careful. He had definitely been played.

Castle opened his eyes slightly and took stock of his situation as he studied the two men by the fire as they guzzled from the jug and then spat in the fire and guffawed at their dirty jokes. They weren't Bracken caliber or even spies out to get his father, but they had a dangerous look about them – at least Clyde did. Billy just looked pathetic and a little too eager to please.

He knew that he couldn't overpower them physically, and they had a gun and a rifle. He did however have his brain and his words, although he wasn't sure how much use they would be with the Darwin twins. But this time, he was going to be all-in, no holding back.

The first thing was to find out when and where he was. "Hey, Darwin," he called out. "I need to take a leak."

Billy snickered as he took a swig on the jug. "Looks like he don't remember your name."

Clyde watched Castle for a moment and then grabbed the gun and the keys off of a table. "No funny stuff; otherwise, pow," he said, aiming the gun at Castle.

"Best behavior, I promise" said Castle.

Clyde unlocked the manacles and Castle slowly lowered his arms, gritting against the stiffness in his shoulders and back.

"Up, pretty boy," Clyde shoved Castle out the door towards a small shed. "And make it quick. Uh – leave the door open."

Castle nodded and turned his back on the man, quickly unzipping his pants. When he finished, he simply closed his eyes and listened for a moment, the same thing he taught Alexis to do while they were camping since the sounds were so different than in the city that never slept.

There was no traffic noise and no airplanes, but the nocturnal animals and birds were just starting to stir – the screech of an owl in the distance, the flutter of wings, the sound of running water, the baying of dogs.

"Hey, you got a bladder problem or somethin'? Hurry up," hissed Clyde as he grabbed Castle by the neck of his shirt and hurried him back inside.

He quickly chained Castle to the wall and then kicked dirt on the fire so that only small embers were left glowing.

Castle leaned his head back between his arms and closed his eyes, feigning sleep, but his mind was racing. He could tell from the noises that they were in a forest near a river. He glimpsed the moon through the trees and it was slightly less than one-quarter, almost the same as it had been last night. He couldn't have been out for more than a few hours and they were probably only a couple of hundred miles from the gas station, which wasn't far from Ashleyville, VA. That could come in handy.

More importantly, the barking dogs bothered Clyde and he had quickly put out the fire. He didn't want anyone to know that they were here, so someone else out there in the forest.

# # # # # # # # # #

Castle's head was still throbbing the next morning when Billy undid the shackles around his wrists while Clyde held a gun on him. "Get up, pretty boy – time to call your ex-wife."

"You better hope she answers," whispered Billy as he yanked Castle's arms behind him and then hand-cuffed him. "Otherwise, that's just gonna piss us off."

Castle studied the two men as they herded him out the door and then into the back of the cab of a run-down pickup truck. They were much younger than he thought the previous evening – possibly 20 or 21.

"Cover his eyes," said Clyde, handing Billy a piece of fabric and then hopping into the driver's seat.

The ride was fast and bouncy. When they stopped, Castle could hear sounds of traffic near them. So the cabin wasn't far from a road.

Clyde pulled out a phone. "Hey, rich guy, what was that number again?"

"212-555-7296," Castle replied.

Clyde dialed the number and waited for it to ring. "Yeah, let me talk to Gina – yeah, Richard Castle, her ex." There was a pause and then a "Yeah, I'll wait – hey, babe, you sound really cute – you want to get together sometime," and then he started a litany of what they could do when they got together. "What the..?" Clyde said suddenly. "She hung up on me. Why did she do that?"

Castle opened his mouth to say something and then thought better of it. Definitely not Bracken material or spies.

Clyde quickly dialed the number again and then stared at the phone. "What the hell? She blocked my number?"

"Now what are we going to do?" whispered Billy. "We can't keep him."

"Hey, pretty boy," said Clyde, leaning over the seat and holding the gun against Castle's temple. "Who else would pay for you?"

Castle played his first bluff. "My mother would – but she's on a cruise in the Mediterranean for two months, so I doubt she'd take your call."

"Real funny, smart guy. We know where you live, so why don't we just go there and see what you've got?" Clyde threatened.

"No good," Castle replied carefully. "I rented my apartment to a couple for the summer and put everything in storage. The doorman would know something was wrong if I showed up there before I'm supposed to be back."

"Would they pay for you?" Billy asked quickly.

"They wouldn't, but they could get you in touch with people who would," Castle said.

"So what's their number?"

"I don't know – everything was done through a leasing agency and they have all of the information."

"And what good does that do us, smart guy?" demanded Clyde, hitting Castle in the head with the gun just hard enough to make his ears ring.

"Well, you could write them," Castle said innocently after a moment. "Maybe send them a phone with the ransom demands so they could call you?"

He could almost hear the cogs in Clyde's head turning. "Abe'll be here in a minute, so we're just gonna sit tight and see what he wants to do."

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Castle felt the heavy rumble before he heard something pull up beside them. From the sound, he guessed it was a large truck – possibly an 18-wheeler. A door slammed and Castle could hear someone walk over to the truck.

"Hey, dude, how's it hangin'?" said another voice.

"We got a problem," said Clyde as he got out of the truck. "Mr. rich guy back here – his ex-wife won't pay, his mom is out of the country, and he has folks staying at his place."

"Will those people pay?"

"No, but they know people who will. Only mr. rich guy doesn't have their number." Clyde paused for a moment. "I was thinkin' we could mail them a phone with the ransom demands so they could call us. Turn off the GPS first so they can't track us."

"Hmm," said the other voice. "And folks said you weren't smart enough to graduate from high school, little bro – I'm impressed. I'll pick two up and meet you back here in 30 minutes. You got his driver's license with you? And what are the names of the folks at his place?"

"Hey, rich guy – who's staying at your place?" Clyde asked.

"Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham," Castle said quickly.

After a few minutes, Castle felt Clyde get back in the truck and slam the door. "You better hope they pay up," he growled.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The back of the cab was getting stuffy when Abe finally returned. He handed one call phone to Clyde. "The GPS is turned off and I put the number of the other cell phone in this one, so don't lose it. Give me 5 days and then come back here to make the call. Do not use your phone to make the call."

He turned to Billy and slapped him on the side of the head. "Don't use this phone for anything else, idiot. And make sure Mr. New Yorker doesn't get away."

Castle could hear the 18-wheeler rumble off as Clyde started the pick-up truck.

Castle let out a slow breath and created a mental timeline. Alexis had already been gone a week, so she would be back in 5 weeks. His mother wasn't sure if she'd come home between performances – it just depended on how well everything was going.

That meant he'd had to stall them for at least 5 weeks before someone opened the package. They obviously didn't know who he was – in fact, he doubted they had ever read a book in their life by choice. He hated that it would be Alexis opening the packages after what they went through in France, but she would call the 12th and they could take it from there. They would call Beckett and she would know where to start to find him.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome. Sorry, but updates are going to be slower because this story is turning out a lot longer than I planned and you guys are giving me some really interesting plot points to include based on your questions.

This chapter has a warning about Castle endangerment, language, and violence.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns.

# # # # # # # #

The Call – Chapter 5

Castle jerked awake, a fresh cramp running through his shoulders and the chill in the air making him shiver, unsure of what had awoken him.

Both Clyde and Billy were snoring loudly, asleep by the fire place.

Over the last several nights, Castle had gotten use to the officious noises they made when asleep and drunk, and was sure that's not what had awoken him. He listened for a moment and then heard the noise again – snuffling and scratching sounds outside the door of the cabin. After a few moments, the noises faded as he heard something run off into the woods.

Clyde had threatened several times to tie him up outside at night and let the wild animals eat him until Castle finally convinced them that he had to be alive for the ransom to be paid. He also pointed out the problem with putting a jug of water and a breakfast bar by him when his hands were chained above his head unless one of them was going to be here to "babysit" him all the time. That earned him a sharp slap across the face and a bruised cheek, but Clyde did unlock one of his hands and then locked the metal cuff to the iron grate he has chained to.

In the early morning light, Castle stared at the primitive calendar Clyde had made on wall that marked the days until they were supposed to make the first ransom call.

He had decided to play the rent card to keep them from going to the loft and wreaking havoc – what if Martha came home unexpectedly or if Kate came back to talk? He didn't want to think about those consequences. But then maybe Kate would shoot them and that would solve a lot of problems, except that no one knew where he was so maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

He also knew that Mr. Brewster wouldn't let them up without his permission, but before he left, he had packed some items for Kate that might make her miss him more and then stopped by her father's house on the way out of town and asked him to send the boxes to her. Brewster might mistake these bozos for the legitimate delivery men if they showed up at the building.

Having the renters be Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham was almost a stroke of genius – he was sure Kate would remember the couple because she was laughing so hard she almost wet her pants when he did a table reading of the manuscript, with complete accents, for her.

Frowning, Castle leaned his head back against the wall, trying to not think for a while because he didn't like any of the worse-case scenarios he was spinning.

# # # # # # #

Clyde awoke with a snort, shaking off the last remnants of a hard-liquor night. He prodded Billy none to gently. "Hey, get your lazy ass up. We're making the call today."

They both stretched and then stumbled out the door, one after the other.

"What about me?" Castle yelled. He hadn't had much to drink but he felt like his bladder was going to explode anyway.

Clyde came back inside a minute later and took the keys off of the nail by the door. "Suppose I just let you piss yourself." He picked up the gun and threw the keys at Billy.

"Phew – no way," complained Billy as he unlocked Castle and pocketed the keys. "He stinks real bad right now."

Castle could only agree as he rubbed the bruise on his wrist that the metal cuff left. Knowing their proclivity for meanness, he wasn't quite sure he wanted to ask for a bath.

Billy ushered him outside and Castle quickly finished before they pushed him to the pick-up truck.

Clyde roughly bound Castle's hands behind his back. "You so much as show your head, I will blow it off," he said as he shoved him into the bed of the pick-up truck and covered him with a tarp. The tail gate closed with a loud clang.

Castle was roughly jostled about as the truck sped off down the road, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. He breathed a sigh of relief when the truck finally braked to a quick halt.

He heard both doors open and then slam shut as the two men got out of the truck and walked to the back where he lay.

"Got any last minute requests?" Clyde joked as he pulled out the phone and selected the contact that Abe had added. "Yo, dudes – we got your guy. We want $500,000 in cash – small bills only. Call this number if you want to see him alive. You got 2 days." He pushed the phone towards the tarp. "Say your piece real quick."

"I rented the loft to Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham," came Caste's muffled voice.

Clyde snorted as he ended the call and then pocketed the phone.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Billy whined, "Clyde, I'm hungry – can we go in to town to get something to eat?"

Clyde slapped Billy across the side of the head. "Where is your brain? With mr. rich guy in the back so people can see him?" He thought for a moment and then grabbed Castle by the ankle and dragged him out of the back of the truck.

Castle barely had time to find his footing before Clyde pushed him towards the woods. "Billy, you stay here and watch him. I'll be back in a little while." He handed Billy the gun and then grabbed Castle by the hair on his head. "You try to run off and he'll shoot you deader than a door nail. Or he'll just shoot you in the balls and we'll leave you here to die."

"Wouldn't think of it," Castle replied as he sat down by a tree. He hadn't heard any traffic on the road and wasn't sure how far town was, so escape was not a likely prospect at this point, especially with his hands tied behind his back.

"Stay out of sight," warned Clyde as he walked back to the truck and then drove away. "If anyone shows up, shoot them."

# # # # # # #

Billy was starting to get antsy, pacing to and fro and muttering, when Clyde pulled into the small opening.

"Man, I thought you were never coming back," Billy said, running up to the truck.

"Moron – why don't you learn to tell time? I was gone less than 30 minutes," Clyde groused as he got out of the pickup truck. He then handed Billy a sack and a large cup. "Here."

Billy inhaled the aroma of the hamburger. "Mmmmm, you went to Jer—"

"Idiot," Clyde hushed him quickly and pointed to Castle. "Hey, rich guy – you hungry?"

Castle glanced at Clyde, not sure how to respond. All he had had in the last few days was a couple of protein bars and water, so of course, he was ravenous, but wasn't sure if he should say so or not.

Clyde walked over and quickly slit the rope from Castle's wrists before handing him a sack and a large cup. "Hope you're not one of those tree freaks that only eats green stuff."

"Nope," said Castle. "Definitely a carnivore." He opened the sack, carefully smelling what was inside.

Clyde sneered at him as he ate his cheeseburger. "You think I'm gonna poison you? Hell, it would be easier just to shoot you and dump your body in the river."

Castle ate slowly, savoring every bite, because he wasn't sure when his next meal would be.

# # # # # # #

Castle was right to savor the cheeseburger and drink. Clyde and Billy left him chained to the wall as they went out to check for phone calls and didn't return until the day after that when Clyde stormed into the cabin.

"Why in the hell haven't your people called yet?" he screamed. "Don't they understand what's gonna happen to you?"

Clyde unlocked the manacle from around Castle's wrist and roughly shoved him out the door towards the truck. The ride to the call spot was faster and more brutal this time as Clyde recklessly sped down the washboard road. The truck slammed to a rough stop and Castle heard the two men getting out of the cab of the truck.

Clyde whipped out the phone and dialed the number. "Hey – shit heads – what is wrong with you? Are you deaf? Call or your guy dies. We want our money."

Castle saw his opportunity and took it. "Hey, Darwin," he yelled. "I told you that there wouldn't be anyone there who could open the packages for 7 weeks. I leased the house to Obadiah and Abigail Van Bickingham for the summer. They aren't going to open any of my mail."

"Shut pretty boy up – shut him up now," Clyde ordered Billy, who grabbed a tire iron from the front of the truck. "Listen, shit heads, you have two days to call. And as a reminder, I'll be sending you a present."

Billy brought the tire iron down on Castle's lower arm with a sickening crunch, and Castle screamed in agony.

Clyde smiled as he pocketed the phone. Now they would pay attention.

# # # # # # # #


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome.

This chapter has a warning about Castle endangerment, language, violence, and wilderness medical procedures. Sorry it's taken so long for this chapter and the next couple of chapters to come to life.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns.

# # # # # # # #

Since Castle was cradling his broken arm tightly to his chest, Clyde didn't bother to tie him up on the way back to the cabin but did take pleasure in hitting every pothole he could find, which elicited hisses of pain from the writer.

When they reached the cabin, Clyde hauled Castle out of the bed of the pickup truck none too gently and herded him inside, quickly shackling his one good arm to the manacle attached to the grate.

Billy sat on a stack of cinder blocks by the front door, nervously bouncing his foot. "Hey, Clyde," he said finally, tentatively. "I'm hungry – can we go get something to eat?"

Clyde looked at Castle. "Yeah, why not – it's not like you're going anywhere, mr. rich guy." Clyde squatted down in front of Castle. "And I'll know if you try somethin'."

Clyde stood and then grabbed Billy by the back of his shirt and hustled him out the door. "Don't die before we get back," he said as a way of parting.

Castle closed his eyes and leaned back against the grate, steadying his breathing and listening as the truck roared away. He then opened his eyes and looked at his left forearm which had a slight bend in the wrong place. The bone was not poking through but his hand was slowly losing color and he knew he was going to have to straighten the fracture if he had any hopes of regaining use of the limb.

Because he had taken a wilderness first aid course when he was researching one of his books, Castle had some knowledge of treating fractures; the fact that it occurred just before he started taking Alexis camping was merely a coincidence. He just wanted to be properly prepared, he assured his mother.

Castle looked around for something to tie to his left wrist and decided that his belt would have to do. With his left hand non-functional, he angled his body so that his right hand could undo his belt and pull it out of his pants. He then carefully looped the belt around his left wrist and through the grate, keeping his hand as close to the grate as possible, grabbing the end of the belt and the grate with his right hand. He wouldn't need much force to align the bones, so he took a deep breath and slowly leaned his left shoulder back to straighten his left arm. Sweat pouring down his face from the effort, he gritted his teeth as the pieces slid back into place and then paused to make sure they seemed aligned. His hands shaking, Castle slowly let off of the pressure and undid the belt from his wrist. His left hand was still non-functional, but his arm did hurt less now and his hand was beginning to regain some color.

The next step was to find a splint. He doubted the chard wood lying around the cabin was a good idea, but they had left his bag fairly close to him and he might be able to reach it with his foot. He stood, grabbing the grate for balance with his right hand, and stretched out his leg, careful not to overbalance and wipe out the good he had just done. He finally caught the edge of the bag with his foot and was able to drag it over. Too bad he didn't have a knife or gun in the bag – but then again, they would have found it when they tore through his belongings.

"Man, for such a rich guy, you travel real light," laughed Clyde when he didn't find much in the bag. But then again, they didn't know where to look either, Castle smirked.

He pulled out a t-shirt and carefully positioned his left forearm arm near his right hand, wrapping the t-shirt around the break and then securing it with his belt.

Oh, damn, he thought after he finished. This would be much easier if he had had two working hands and he was so thankful that he never had to do that when he and Alexis went camping.

Knowing full well that they would see the splint, Castle carefully scooted the bag back to its original position. Maybe he could trick them into thinking he was wearing two t-shirts? Closing his eyes, Castle leaned back against the grate, taking deep breaths and waiting for his pulse rate to drop.

# # # # # # # # #

It was dark when Clyde and Billy finally returned to the cabin. "Hey, dude – you still alive?" called Clyde as he tripped into the dark cabin. "Yeah, guess you are," he said, looking at Castle, and then drunkenly tossing a bottle of water at him. Clyde lay down in front of the fireplace and was snoring within a few minutes.

Castle let the bottle of water roll towards him and then scooted it over to his right hand with his foot. The only problem was that he couldn't use his left hand or arm to help pick up the bottle and he couldn't quite reach it with his right hand.

He froze as Billy stood up, putting a finger to his lips, and tiptoed over to Castle. He reached down and picked up the bottle, opened it, and handed it to Castle. Billy smiled tentatively and then quietly made his way back to where Clyde lay.

Castle slowly drank the water as he studied the two men. If he was going to make it out of here alive, he would have to be very careful with how he played this.

# # # # # # # # # # #

The next several days fell into somewhat of a routine with Clyde going in to town to wait for the phone call that wasn't going to happen anytime soon and Billy tasked watching Castle but usually wandering in the woods, and then the two men going back to town at night. Billy was careful to leave several bottles of water near Castle and a bag or two of crackers and some beef jerky.

During that time, Castle studied them, looking for something that would help him escape.

Men – you really couldn't call them that, probably 21 at the most. While moderately handsome, Clyde had the look of a buff rabid feral animal – or maybe a serial killer – prone to bursts of anger at what he thought was the slightest provocation, always blaming the other person because they made him act that way.

Billy, on the other hand, was rather plain and quiet, with a nervous flighty quality about him. He was almost kind on occasion when Clyde wasn't around and was distracted easily when he wandered outside, following the hummingbirds and butterflies that flittered by. They were as opposite in temperament as possible, with Clyde being dominant and Billy passive-aggressive.

Castle knew he couldn't take either of them physically – he had seen them wrestle enough to know that. Several times, he had thought about running when Clyde was gone and Billy had unchained him to go to the outhouse, but quickly nixed that idea when he saw Billy shoot 3 squirrels out of a tree at 75 feet. He was pretty sure Billy wouldn't hesitate to shoot him either if he tried to run. "Dinner!" Billy proclaimed proudly afterwards and quickly skinned the dead beasts, putting them on the hot coals to cook.

And it wasn't the mind-numbing fear of being murdered any minute or the almost lack of the basic necessities of life that dulled Castle's mind and made him antsy after several days. It was the mind-numbing boredom and serious withdrawal from an electronic addiction he was experiencing – being off the grid, totally unplugged, with nothing to occupy his mind except the unceasing chirping of the birds day and night outside. So used to his numerous toys, he could feel his hands twitch when he slept, heralding strange dreams of insane video games with dead squirrels and Kate dancing away just out of his reach.

So he just needed to do something he still wasn't very good at, and that was to wait and be patient.

# # # # # # # # #

Unexpectedly, Castle's first break came several days later when Clyde and Billy came back from town, both carrying several sacks.

"When we get the money, are we going?" Billy was asking.

"As far away from here as we can get," assured Clyde.

Billy put the phone on the table by the door while Clyde started unloading the sacks. Suddenly there was a splash as the phone was knocked off the table into bucket of water by the door.

Billy stared at Clyde with wide eyes. "Uh, oh," he said quietly. "Phone's in the water."

Clyde swore and fished the phone out. "What was it doing there?" he said, slapping Billy up the side of the head. "Why'd you put it there?"

"Uh," said Billy, "I didn't know it'd fall."

Pretending to be asleep, Castle watched them through narrowed eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Now they wouldn't be expecting anyone to call and that would definitely give him more time.

"Uh," said Billy, "Uncle Abe's gonna kill us."

"Well, we're not supposed to use the phone anyway, so how's he going to find out if we don't tell him?" hissed Clyde.

"But we just spented all the money he gave us," Billy fretted. "What'd we do now? How are we gonna get away?"

Castle thought a moment and then slowly cleared his throat.

Both men looked at him, almost surprised that he was there.

"If I might suggest something," he said, pointing to his bag. "There's a rather expensive ring in the side pocket. Perhaps you gentlemen might know someone interested in buying it?"

Clyde picked up the bag and found the hidden side pocket that contained the ring.

"Wow – ain't that pretty," commented Billy as Clyde studied it.

"Yeah, I might know someone who'd like it," Clyde nodded and then stared at Castle suspiciously. "This ain't hot, is it?"

"Got it from some poor sap who had his heart broken," Castle replied innocently, but it was closer to the truth than he'd like to admit.

Clyde pocketed the ring. "We'll go see Mr. Gray tomorrow – see if he's interested," he said to Billy.

Castle watched the two boys settle down for the night and then let out the breath he had been holding. No, the ring wasn't "hot" but he had made sure it had a small security marking that any jeweler could see in case it was stolen. He had just played his Ace of Hearts and hoped that it would find its way back to Kate so she could find him.

Now, let's see - where had he left off with Rook and Nikki?

# # # # # # # # #


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: Thanks again for all the reviews and the people following – you guys are awesome. Yes, I agree – they've dumbed Castle down in the last couple of episodes of the season and really played up his ADHD (and he does show all the signs), so that's one of the reasons for this story plus this weird plot bunny that popped into my head and is turning out to be a much longer story than I first imagined. When you watch early episodes (thank you TNT), you can really see the difference. Castle's not dumb, but sometimes the universe and we writers just like to get the poor guy into trouble. And he just can't keep his hands off of things either, which leads to more trouble.

This chapter has a warning about Castle endangerment, abuse, language, violence, and non-consensual man-handling, hence the M rating.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns.

# # # # # # # # # #

Chapter 7

Dressed in dark gray clothes and with their faces covered, Rook and a team of Japanese secret service ninjas quickly scaled the volcano. They paused at the top and set up their repelling gear, waiting for the fake surface to open so they could stealthily sneak inside.

It wasn't long before the metal slid back with a screech and a helicopter flew out. They threw in the ropes and quietly slid down. The theme for the "spy who shall not be named" played in the background as they breached the outpost of the "villain." They quickly ran through the corridors and stopped when they reached the control center. Rook cautiously looked out and saw his target, but then froze.

The man held Nikki in front of him, using her body as a shield. Rook's mouth hung open as he looked her up and down and then gulped – she wasn't dressed in the matching grey one piece he had last seen her in, but in a shimmery, clingy very low cut red gown (covered in white cat hair) that accentuated all of her best assets, with a high slit that exposed her long luxurious right leg in those oh so sexy black stilettoes both of them were partial to. She parted her bright red lips slightly and slowly ran her tongue across her upper lip, pushing her free hand through her hair, stretching provocatively...

Castle shook himself awake and took several deep breaths. Nope – better not go there and besides that had already been done, probably better than he could even hope to – except for the Nikki Heat part of course and that had really gotten his pulse racing.

He glanced around the cabin and then looked at the nature clock he has sat up to determine the time, not that it mattered anymore because the days had already become one long forgetful blur that seemed to dull his mind and senses.

Clyde and Billy had gone into town to find Mr. Gray and might be gone a couple of days based on the amount of water and snacks that Billy had left him on a small table he had put by Castle so the writer could easily reach the items. The only thing that was really out of reach, and he had already tried several times in vain, was the manacle key that Clyde hung nonchalantly by the front door on his way out, sneering at Castle as he did.

Castle stretched carefully, picked up one of the bottles of water, and took a sip. Coffee – what he wouldn't give for a cup of coffee right now – and ugh – a shower and a toothbrush, he thought as he sniffed himself. He then ran through the morning routine he had created just to have a vague sense of control in his life.

A quick trip to the side jar and a hand wash in the basin Billy had sat up. Then another mark hidden behind the grate to keep track of the days that had past. He ran his fingertips lightly over the marks and closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the wall. He had just made the 20th one and just had to hang on a little longer, pretend he was trapped on an airplane going nowhere but one that would eventually land and not give in to the screaming useless fit that was trying so hard to get out. Patience, he thought, doing a deep breathing exercise for several minutes that Kate had taught him in hopes of helping him calm down and focus when he became too hyperactive. He would get through this – he knew that Kate would find him, hopefully alive and not a skeleton chained to the wall his writer's imagination quickly added as a macabre afterthought.

He turned and slowly slid down the wall, blotting out the cabin. Rook and Nikki – where had he left them?

It was night – they were running down a street, her long Victorian dress hindering their progress when they finally reached their destination. The phone booth was deserted, out of place, but Rook jerked the door open and they stepped inside, suddenly to be transported – no wait, that had been done before too… Hmmm, maybe a space ship…

# # # # # # # # #

The light was fading in the cabin when the pickup truck pulled up and Billy fairly danced into the cabin, holding money in both hands. "Hey, mister man," he crowed at Castle and waved money. "Look what we got – a whole $2000!"

Castle's mouth fell open and he quickly shut it, biting back any comments he was about to blurt out.

The ring was simple but cost more than 10 times that amount, so whoever Mr. Gray was, he was nothing more than a con man and probably knew nothing about jewelry; or he was a con man who knew quality jewelry and just took the boys for quite a ride.

Castle would never tell Kate how much it cost, hoping that she'd wear it all the time, but having a $20,000 rock on your hand while making an arrest might make her a little nervous, not that Kate ever got nervous. Hell, it made him nervous thinking of her with that much money on her hand in her line of work, but he wanted the best for her.

Yep, Castle thought, the universe definitely hated him – he was sure the ring was lost and that he had lost that round.

The only good thing to come out of this fiasco was that Billy had bought two decks of playing cards. When Clyde was in town, as he was most days, Billy and Castle would play Battle, like Billy had played with his pawpaw.

Castle slowly got Billy to open up to him during the endless games, looking for the opportunity he needed to escape. Fortunately, playing endless games was one thing that Castle had the patience for – he had played Candy Land with Alexis when she was little so many times that he could still draw the board in his sleep. Later it changed to Chinese checkers and then chess as she got older, but he never grew tired of playing games with her. That's what he missed most since she had left for college – like he had said before she left, who would play with him now?

When Clyde was there, he let them play because it kept Billy entertained but watched them cautiously. And Castle watched him, spinning the story in his head, trying to write an ending in which he escaped. He knew that Billy loved Clyde unconditionally and he was sure that Clyde loved Billy when he wasn't being a tough guy. And something drove Clyde to show that façade almost constantly, never letting his guard down around anyone, something that Castle was determined to uncover and hopefully use to his advantage.

It was during one of their numerous card games that Castle finally asked Billy why he did the things he did – left Castle water and food, took him out for "walks," in essence, caring for him. The reply was almost shocking in its simplicity and somewhat insulting to the writer.

"Uncle Abe and Clyde," said Billy, putting down a card. "They say I don't got no sense to take care of a dog. But if I take real good care of you, mister man, Clyde'll see and I'll get one when we get where we're going."

Clyde on the other hand roared with the first real laugh Castle had heard out of him. "Silly Billy, he ain't no pet and we ain't keepin' him."

Castle found another clue to the puzzle one day when Billy took him outside for his daily "walk." Clyde had been watching Billy and him the night before and drawing something on a piece of paper using burnt wood. From what he could see, the drawing was true to life – exceptionally good – but when Clyde found out that Castle had seen it, he angrily threw it in the fire, much to Billy's shriek of dismay.

"Think you're smarter than we are, huh, mister?" Clyde demanded.

Castle shook his head, his hair now long enough to flop in his eyes. "No, I don't," he replied. "I think everyone has potential. It just depends on how they use it."

"Yeah, well, potential don't get you shit around here," Clyde said as he shackled both of Castle's hands to the grate, angry at the discovery. "And we ain't the ones locked up."

Another clue happened late at night, when Clyde would stir in his sleep and came at Castle, punching him with Castle unable to resist. "Stay away from us, old man," he would slur sleepily, looking at Castle with unfocused eyes. "We don't need you. Just go away and leave us be." Then Clyde would stumble away and lay down, immediately asleep.

Billy would see the damage in the morning and gently wash the blood from Castle's face. "Sorry I made him mad," he would apologize over and over again.

"Billy," Castle asked softly one morning, "did your Uncle Abe ever beat you?"

Billy looked away. "Uncle Abe's mean; he don't like it when you don't do what he says." He scrunched up his shoulders and face. "I don't like him. I don't wanna go with him when he comes back, but the law says we got to."

# # # # # # # # #

17 more mind-numbing days passed before Castle made the 36th mark behind the grate, his spirits lifting slightly. Alexis was home by now, and Kate and the 12th would be working furiously on the case. He could imagine her, Esposito, and Ryan charging through the forest, guns drawn and surrounding the cabin, swooping in to rescue him.

But it would be really great if he could bathe first and be properly dressed to greet his rescuers. No, wait – to his utter dismay, that didn't sound very manly and he was pretty sure he had just channeled his mother. Martha Rogers had many fine qualities, but the one that annoyed Castle the most when he was growing up was the fact that he had to be presentable at all times, even when he was wearing hand-me-downs – you never knew who you were going to meet that day, his mother would say. Or "What if you're in an accident? You better have on clean underwear." With all of the boyish dignity he could muster, Castle assured his mother that it didn't matter what state his underwear was in if he were in accident – they certainly wouldn't be clean afterwards.

Castle watched Billy walk around the Ferrari, stroking it almost lovingly, as his mind started to formulate a plan that he kicked himself for not thinking of much sooner. Had he really gotten that stale?

What would be even better than being rescued would be if he met the team in town as they rushed to his aide, just to prove to them how manly he was, how he could get himself out of trouble that he had unknowingly walked right into.

And Uncle Abe would be back in a couple of days, so if he was going to make a move, he needed to make it now because he certainly didn't want to be at the mercy of that man.

When Billy came back in, Castle motioned towards the car. "You know, it won't run right if it isn't started every couple of weeks. And I don't think it's been started in a while."

"Oh, I couldn't," said Billy timidly.

"Yes, you could," said Castle, smiling confidently at the boy. "I'll show you how."

"Okay," said Billy as he quickly unlocked the manacle from the grate and walked Castle outside. "I'll sit there," he said, motioning to the driver's seat. "You sit here," he nodded towards the passenger seat.

Castle merely shrugged and slid into the passenger's seat as Billy closed the door and locked the cuff around the side mirror.

Billy smiled as he sat in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. He slowly turned it and then frowned as nothing happened.

"You might need to check the battery. The hood release is down there," said Castle, pointing to a lever.

Billy pulled on it and the hood popped open slightly.

"You'll need to open it the rest of the way," instructed Castle.

Billy slid out of the seat and walked to the front of the car. He quickly found the hood latch and propped the hood open.

"Nah, the battery looks good," he said, adjusting the cables.

"You're really good at this," Castle commented.

"Yeah, I like cars – I like engines. Uncle Abe says I'm too slow, but I can always make them work."

"Well, let's try it now," said Castle as he leaned over, pushed the hidden kill switch, and started the car. He glanced at the trip meter and frowned at the reading. It had 400 more miles on it than he thought, so where in the hell were they?

Billy laughed as it purred to life and closed the hood. He slid back into the driver's seat.

"So why don't you take it for a test drive?" Castle offered and then paused. "You have you driven a manual before, haven't you?"

"Yep," replied Billy. "Pawpaw had an old Corvair I drove in the cow pasture."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," smiled Castle, sure that if the Ferrari could talk, it would slap him for just being compared to a compact. He buckled his seat belt and motioned for Billy to do likewise. The Ferrari or his life? He knew what the answer was. As he said to Esposito one time, it's just like any other car when you're stuck in traffic, or have been kidnapped and it's your only way out. "Just gently press the pedal in and…"

Castle couldn't help but grimace when the Ferrari jerked several times and the transmission gears growled as Billy pushed on the pedals and moved the stick-shift to the correct position. Then they were slowly moving forward.

"Why don't you—" started Castle and then the Ferrari slowed and coasted to a stop. Castle looked over at the gas gauge and groaned. Yes, all his bad karma was definitely paying him a visit at one time.

"Did I do somethin' wrong?" asked Billy, eyes wide.

"No," Castle assured him. "It's out of gas – you wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"

"Clyde's got a gas can in the truck."

Castle slowly nodded. Yes, definitely bad karma. So much for driving in to town and meeting the team there – he would just have to wait to be rescued much to his chagrin. "Well, it's not going to go anyplace without gas." And with a fuel-injected engine, it wouldn't go any place until someone came to fix it either – a costly mistake Castle had only made one time. And Castle also knew it wouldn't do any good to tell Billy not to tell Clyde what happened – the car had definitely been moved from its original spot.

Sadly, Billy climbed out of the car and then unlocked the manacle from the side mirror and led Castle back into the cabin.

Clyde came home shortly afterward to find Billy moping just outside the front door. "Billy, the car's been moved. Did you do something?" was his first question.

"Yeah," said Billy forlornly. "Me and mister man were going for a ride, but it's got no gas."

"Really?" asked Clyde as he peered inside at Castle. "Hey, I got you a candy bar but I left it in the truck. Why don't you go get it?"

Billy hopped up, scrambled over to the truck, and jerked the door open, busily rummaging inside.

Castle took a deep breath as Clyde walked toward him and then knelt down.

"You tricked my brother," Clyde said quietly as he slid his knife out of its sheath in his boot. "You're just like the rest of them. I should kill you for that," he said as he placed the knife against Castle's throat.

"But you're not going to," said Castle, suddenly tired of this whole charade. The dull days in captivity had finally worn down the only patience gene he had, so he went for broke. "If you were, you would have already done it. And you're stupid to think I'm just going to sit here and not try to find a way to escape." Castle stared him down. "This isn't about ransom anymore, is it? It's about power – you have it for the first time and you relish it and you think that what you do will bring you more. That's why you haven't bought a new phone or called your Uncle Abe because I'm sure he would have come right back here when he found out and then you'd be back on the bottom. But you like this too much – you're finally the top dog in the pack for the first time in your life."

Clyde stared back at Castle and then grinned slowly, a feral grin that chilled the writer – had he pushed him too far like he had pushed Tyson at the hotel room? Like he had pushed Kate to look into her mother's murder? Why couldn't he just learn to keep his mouth shut? But then, he wouldn't be Castle if he did that.

"Yeah, I do have the power now. I'm top dog and I decide what happens to you." Clyde moved closer, keeping his knife against Castle's neck, cutting slightly and drawing a thin trail of blood. "Back at the home, we had a way of dealing with kids we didn't like," Clyde said, running the knife down Caste's chest, cutting through his shirt, drawing more blood. He paused as he reached Castle's belt and slowly unbutton his pants, pushing his boxers aside, and bringing out his length.

"So we'll see if this changes your mouth any," said Clyde as he suddenly zipped the pants back up, catching Castle in the zipper's teeth. "Usually takes a while though and the longer it takes, the worse it is in the end."

A roll of thunder covered Castle's scream as he shuddered from the pain.

Clyde covered him with a t-shirt he pulled out of Castle's bag and then patted his cheek. "Say anything to Billy and I'll cut it off."

Clyde walked out of the cabin. "Hey, Billy, get the rope out of the truck. I got a buyer for the car. We need to get to town before the storm hits."

They quickly tied the Ferrari to the back of the truck and Clyde gave Billy the truck keys. "Here – you drive the truck."

Billy paused. "I gotta go check on mister man first."

"Fine," said Clyde. "Hurry up though."

Billy rushed into the cabin and frowned when he saw the pain Castle was in. "You okay, mister man?"

Castle nodded, letting out a slow breath. "Billy – take the bag with you," he said hoarsely. "There's money in the bottom of it – and a cell phone you can use to call your pawpaw to come pick you up before Abe gets back."

Billy looked through the bag for a moment before he found the hidden compartment at the bottom. "For me?" he asked.

Castle nodded. "Just make sure you call him."

The honk of the horn interrupted them and Billy grabbed the bag. He paused at the door. "Hey, mister man – how do I call heaven?"

# # # # # # # #


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Warning about sexual innuendo.

And now back to Kate and the boys to see what they've been up to all this time. (And I'm not going to even guess how much Castle weighs).

# # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 8**

By the time Beckett and the others got back to her desk from the tech lab, Rhonda had assistant deputy Kyle Tuckley of Ashleyville, Virginia on speaker phone.

"Deputy Tuckley, this is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD," Kate quickly introduced herself. "We're working a missing person's case and hope you might be able to help us with a lead."

"Sure," said the deputy in a southern drawl. "How can I help you?"

"We have reason to believe that a Mr. Richard Castle was in your area about six weeks ago and was wondering if anyone can verify that he was there? He's Caucasian, 6'1", about 40 years old, short brown hair. I can email you a picture for identification."

"Sure." There was a pause and then Tuckley was back on the line. "No, can't say the picture rings a bell, but I can show it around and see if anyone has seen him."

"He would have been driving a Ferrari," interjected Ryan.

"Oh, you mean the Ferrari guy?" Tuckley said. "Yeah, I heard about that. I was out fishing at the time and didn't get to meet him, but he let nearly everyone in town drive that car."

Smiling slightly, Beckett had to bite her tongue; Castle would so hate that, being known just for his fancy car. But then again, that was just a sign of his big heart too.

"Is there anyone specific we can talk to? Someone he might have spent time with?" she asked.

"I think the person who spent the most time with him was Abby at the diner. I can give you her home number." He quickly read off the number.

"Thanks so much for your time, Deputy Tuckley."

"You're welcome. Call me if I can help in any other way."

Beckett hung up and quickly dialed the number that Tuckley had given her.

After a couple of rings, a young woman answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Is Abby there?" Beckett asked.

"This is she," came the reply.

"My name is Detective Kate Beckett with the NYPD and Deputy Tuckley suggested you might be able to give me some information about a man that was in your area about six weeks ago. He was driving a Ferrari-"

"Oh, you mean Richard," Abby said quickly. "Is he alright?"

"We're hoping he is, but no one has seen him for several weeks," Kate replied. "Did he mention where he was going?"

"No, not really. He said he was doing research for a book and was going to visit towns in the area before heading back home."

"What about the Ferrari?" asked Esposito, almost jealously.

Abby laughed softly. "You should have seen the boys' faces when he drove up to the diner – like they'd died and gone to heaven. He let everyone take turns driving it while he sat inside and had coffee. And he was nice enough to stay the night and give Jim Mitchell an interview the next day for the Ashleyville Gazette. I bet if you called Jim, he would send you a copy. Maybe that could help?"

"Thanks. That's great information," said Beckett.

"No problem." They could hear a baby start to cry in the background. "Oh, that's little Edgar waking up from his nap."

"We won't keep you any longer," Beckett said. "Thanks for your help."

"Please call me if you think of something else," replied Abby. "And I hope you find him, detective. He was a really nice man – first time I've ever gotten a $1000 tip for a cup of coffee."

Kate smiled as she hung up the phone. That was so like Castle too.

But as glad as she was to at least have some leads, the information was unsettling – it meant that Castle was using cash and was basically off the grid with no way to trace him easily.

Picking up a push pin, a rubber band, and a pen, Beckett walked over to the map of Virginia and stuck the push pin in the center of Ashleyville. She then took the rubber band, hooked it to the push pen, and drew a circle on the map with a radius of 100 miles using the pen.

"So we'll do this step-by-step. Right now, this is the area we focus on. Esposito, you take a west; Ryan, you take north; you two take south; and I'll take east. Send out flyers to the local police departments; look through police reports, newspapers; contact hospitals; see if any John Doe's have turned up anywhere."

The team nodded, understanding Kate's unspoken request for checking the morgues and funeral homes also, and got to work.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Esposito stared bleary eyed at the computer and then leaned back in his chair, stretching. He was definitely not meant for long hours of desk work.

The team had slowly checked towns and cities off the list with no trace of Castle in any of them, and then expanded the search radius another 100 miles.

Ryan and the feds had gone home an hour or so ago, but Kate was still working at her desk, drumming her fingers on the desk and ignoring the carton of take-out that set on the corner.

Esposito shifted and then pulled up the list of cities he was working and searched their online newspapers for police reports.

"Hey, hey," he said after a few minutes, snapping his fingers at Beckett. "I think I got something."

He quickly pulled up the article. "From the Blakely Town Post – a store clerk at a gas station was killed about six weeks ago and whoever did it cut off the man's index finger." He looked at Beckett. "I think we just found who the finger belongs too."

Beckett looked at her watch. "We'll get Lanie to contact their ME first thing tomorrow morning to make a comparison. And see if you can get pictures from the crime scene from the local police? I'll want to look at the photos before we update Martha and Alexis. Thanks, Javi. Why don't you go home and get some rest?"

"Only if you will," he replied.

"I will," said Beckett looking into Gate's office. That woman could also put in the hours. "I just have to take care of something first. See you tomorrow?"

"First thing in the morning," said Javi as he walked towards the elevator.

Beckett politely knocked on Gates' office door.

"Captain, a word with you," she asked as she walked into the Gates' office and closed the door. She paused and took a breath. "Sir, I want to know why you didn't call me when you first found out that Castle had been kidnapped."

Gates studied Kate for a moment. "I'm sorry, Kate, that was an unfortunate mistake on my part based on my understanding of the situation. By the time we found out, there didn't seem to be any reason to call you. Clearly you weren't associated with the kidnapping. You and Mr. Castle had broken up before you left and apparently had not had any contact since then. He even packed up your personal belongings at his house and asked your father to send them to you. It appeared that Mr. Castle wanted no further contact with you. So, legally, since you were an ex-girlfriend, there was no reason to call you."

"I'm sorry I gave you and everyone that impression, sir," Beckett said stiffly, hurt by Castle's actions. "That was never my intention."

"Well, the best intentions of mice and men often go awry, do they not? See you in the morning, detective?"

"Yes, sir. I just need to finish up a few things."

Beckett walked out of the office, sat down at her desk, and pulled up the map where the murder had taken place.

# # # # # # # #

By 8:00 the next morning, Lanie had contacted the ME in Blakely, Virginia and was having a DNA sample shipped to her by courier that would arrive that afternoon. After pulling some strings, she also guaranteed Kate that she would have the results in two days. However, from examining the pictures of the body and the finger they still had, she was almost 100% sure they were a match.

It was also when they went through the crime scene photos that Kate came across the definitive proof that Castle had been at the gas station. No one else would have known, but when she saw the pictures of what was in the garbage (taken because the police were looking for the finger), she knew she found where the kidnapping had taken place.

"Stop," Beckett said suddenly as Javi scrolled through the pictures of the crime scene. "Go back one. There—"she said, pointing to a rough-made leather wallet. "That's Castle's wallet."

"Really?" asked Ryan, looking dubiously at the picture of the wallet, clearly made from a kit and something someone with Castle's taste wouldn't be caught dead with – oh, bad choice of words, he thought.

"Alexis made it for him when she was at camp one summer. He always has it with him."

Javi looked through the report that the police had sent. "The wallet was empty, so they couldn't identify the owner. They dusted it for prints, but couldn't find any matches. I'll have them send over the prints."

"Thanks, Javi." Beckett walked to the board and drew a new circle. "This is now our search area." She glanced at her watch. "You guys keep digging. I'll go update Martha and Alexis."

# # # # # # # # # # #

When Kate arrived at the loft, Martha greeted her at the door with a half-hearted smile. "How are you this morning, Kate dear?" she asked tiredly. She hadn't been sleeping well since Richard has disappeared and it was finally taking a toll on the older woman.

"We were finally able to find someone who saw Castle several weeks ago, so we know the general area to look in. We're following up leads now."

"Good," said Martha, sinking down on the couch. "It's been so long," she said quietly.

Kate sat down beside her and took hold of her hands, squeezing slightly. "We'll find him, Martha – I believe that from the bottom of my heart."

"I know you do, dear." Martha's phone chirped. "If you'll excuse me – I need to take this."

Kate nodded and watched Martha walk into the kitchen. On impulse, she stood up and walked to Castle's room, slowly opening the door. The room was empty, but still filled with Castle's presence – and hers? She frowned as she looked at the items on the dresser top. The box that she put her father's watch in and her mother's ring was still there – as well as her toothbrush in the bathroom and clothes in the closet. What had Castle packed to send to her then?

Beckett walked back into the front room and waited for Martha to finish her call. "Martha, Captain Gates said that Castle had packed some packages for my father to send to me?"

"Oh, I put them in his study and was going to make him deal with them when he got back," Martha choked slightly. "He said they were items of yours that you might want in your new place. But since you're here, I guess this is as good of time as any to give them to you. I'm pretty sure he thought about mailing himself in one of the boxes, but you know that's illegal, not that that would stop him."

The two women walked in to Castle's study, where Kate picked up the box marked #1 and opened it.

It contained her favorite coffee cup, a few pictures, and a broken vase with "Definitely top 10" scrawled on it in Castle's writing.

Martha frowned. "Silly boy," she said. "I wonder why Richard kept that – he said it broke when you were playing Air Guitar."

Kate nodded once, keeping a poker face. "It did," she said simply. Who knew that Air Guitar could be played in such a variety of unusual and creative ways?

"Oh," said Martha, as realization dawned on her. "Oh. Dear, maybe it's best if you open these later when you're alone," she nodded at her.

"Yes, that's probably best," agreed Kate as she closed the box. They weren't her personal items, but they were definitely belongings of a personal nature. Oh, she was going to so kill him when she found him.

Kate placed the box next to the other six on the table and then paused. 7 weeks – 7 boxes – did they somehow correlate? She pulled out her phone and called her dad.

"Hi, Dad – it's Kate. Listen, about those boxes that Castle wanted you to send – did he leave any special instructions? One every couple of days? Thanks. Love you."

Kate quickly opened the box labeled 7. It was smaller than the other and simply contained a letter hand-written on a piece of white paper.

_Dearest Kate:_

_I'm sorry – I screwed up and panicked and proposed, thinking it was the right thing to do, like in my first two marriages. But I know now that proposing was the only thing to do even if my timing was bad. I don't want to lose you ever. I want us. I want you in my life whether we're living in New York or Washington DC, and whether you're working 160 hours a week and flying all over the country chasing bad guys, or just chasing bad guys in New York. _

_Can we talk? Call me at 727-588-5283. (Notice that it's REC-LUV-KATE?)_

_Always, Castle._

_PS, please don't give this phone number to anyone, especially Gina or my mom – it's just for you. _

Kate folded the piece of paper and put it in her pocket as she pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number.

"This is Detective Kate Beckett B-E-C-K-E-double T. Badge 41319. I need a trace warrant on phone number 727-588-5283. Thanks."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

The phone trace had turned up nothing – there were no incoming or outgoing calls for that number, but Beckett had them monitor the line in case a call was made. And they found no other leads. There were no matches to the fingerprints on the wallet in the system, even though one of the fingerprints had a funny line through it.

So, as quickly as the leads had come, they dried up and the next couple of days yielded no new leads either.

# # # # # # # #

Beckett finally needed to clear her head and defrost from the chilly reception she was still getting at the precinct since her return, so she headed outdoors and just walked. It didn't surprise her when she wound up in their park. She sat briefly in the swing and then walked to the bookstore. She knew where to find his books by heart and ran her fingers gently over the amber cover of his latest book.

"Rick, where are you?" she whispered. They were doing all they could but it was like Castle had dropped off the face of the earth. But he hadn't and she knew she just had to ask that one question – find that one lead – that would set her on the right path.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet and excited "Oh, my gosh, it is you – Nikki Heat. I can't believe I'm meeting you in person," came from a young woman standing behind her. "I've read all of your books – you are so amazing."

Beckett smiled and shrugged. "Well, the writer makes me sound good, and the name is Detective Beckett."

"Halie Sims – sorry – Effington," said the young woman in a southern accent, blushing slightly. "We just got married and I'm not used to my new name yet, even though I've written it like 2 million times."

"It's very nice to meet you, Halie Effington," Beckett replied, shaking her hand. "So are you here on your honeymoon?"

"Yes, and this town is so wonderful – you actually have shops with decent clothes and great restaurants. Don't get me wrong – Second Chance, West Virginia is a good place to raise kids, but the fashion and food, not so much." Halie pulled out her phone. "Do you mind if we take a picture together? The girls at home aren't going to believe this."

"Sure," said Beckett, standing next to the young woman as Halie turned the phone around and snapped a picture of them.

"Thanks so much," said Halie as she pocketed the phone. "You are such an inspiration. You made me want to be a police officer like my father."

"So you're an officer?" Beckett inquired.

"No, ma'am," Halie blushed slightly. "I have a congenital heart defect – nothing to worry about – but I couldn't pass the physical. So now, I'm following my mom and going to be an ME. I start medical school in the fall. Poor Jonah doesn't know what he's in for. I'm working dispatch for my father this summer though." Halie paused and then said suddenly, "Oh, I never thought I'd see you, but I brought it anyway."

She fished in her purse and then pulled out a little draw-string bag. "My cousin Becky is getting married and Bobby Ray bought her an engagement ring a couple of weeks ago. She was really delighted with it until she read the inscription on the inside." Halie opened the bag and handed Kate the ring. "Let me tell you, I thought the wedding was off after that. Becky was flat out certain that she wanted her own ring, no matter how much this one cost, and that she didn't want any used ring that Bobby Ray had bought from some sleazy guy at a bar."

Kate stared at the ring and then back at the girl. She had wondered if she would ever hold it in her hands again.

"See," Halie pointed out. "It has the inscription RC KB Always. I know it's nothing," she shrugged, "but I thought of the inscriptions in your books when I saw that and knew I had to bring it with me in case I got to meet you."

"Halie," Kate asked quickly, putting the ring in her pocket, "do you have time to come to the precinct with me? We're working on a case and I think you've just given me the break that we need."

"No way – are you kidding me? To see the New York police department in action? Yes, I'd love to."

The walk back to the precinct was quick with Halie chatting excitedly about the things she had seen in the city and Kate making suggestions about where they should go before they left for home. Halie was out and about by herself because Jonah had suggested she take a walk that morning without him, but she knew he was off buying her a surprise present because his mother just insisted that he get her something nice from the big city.

"I didn't think I'd ever get him to marry me," Halie said dreamily, looking at the wedding ring on her hand as they rode up the elevator. "When you live in a small town, detective, everyone knows everyone's business. And when you're the daughter of the police chief, it's even worse – not many guys want to date the girl whose father can lock them away just for looking wrong at her. But Jonah stuck around when most boys run off. He just had to take some convincing that we made sense together and what other people said didn't matter a hill of beans."

Espo and Ryan glanced up as Beckett and Halie walked onto the floor.

"Detective Esposito, Detective Ryan, this is Halie Effington from Second Chance, West Virginia. She may have information pertinent to the case."

"Ma'am," said the boys, both nodding at her.

"Detectives," Halie responded courteously.

"Halie," Kate said before walking her to the investigation board. "What we're going to talk about is confidential; it can't be discussed with anyone outside of this department at this time."

"Yes, ma'am; we have the same protocol in place at the sheriff's office," Halie nodded as they walked to the board. "Oh," she said simply as she looked at the picture at the top of the board. "Oh – that's –"

"Yes," Beckett replied.

"Then that's really your ring?" Halie asked, eyes wide, pointing to Kate's pocket.

Beckett nodded. "Halie, do you know exactly when and where Bobby Ray bought the ring?"

"Yes, ma'am. Two weeks ago Friday at Jonah's bachelor party at the Drinking Ram down the road in Tarrington. They were laughing about Bobby Ray not having a real ring and a man at the bar overheard them. He told them he had recently bought a ring and was willing to let it go at a fair price. So Bobby Ray bought it."

"Can they identify the man?" asked Ryan.

Halie shook her head. "I doubt it – they were pretty toasted that night." She thought for moment. "But Ed, the bartender, probably could. He keeps tabs on all the locals and any strangers who wander into town. And I'm sure they took pictures, even if they won't let me see them."

Halie frowned as she studied the board. "Do you have a computer that I can borrow? I remember reading something about a Ferrari in one of the local dispatch logs a couple of days ago."

"Sure," said Kate, leading her to her desk, with Espo and Ryan lurking in the background.

As she opened a browser, Halie thought for a moment and typed in a name to bring up the local newpapers and quickly opened the crime watch section. "There," she said, pointing to the article. "A chop shop was raided a couple of days ago in Little River. They had mostly low end cars and tractor parts, but they also had a Ferrari. Not many people in our area have fancy cars."

"Thanks, Halie," Beckett said. "You've been a big help." She paused. "Can I ask you to do one more thing? I would like you to listen to some tapes and see if you can identify the people on them."

"I'd be glad to, Detective," Halie replied.

Beckett quickly walked her to the tech room. After quick introductions, Beckett sat Halie down at a table and played her part of a message.

Halie's eyes grew wider as she listened. "Oh, ma'am, that sounds like the Cothern twins – Clyde and Billy – from Sounder. They claim they are related to Clyde Barrow and none of the girls in the area will go anywhere near them. Sheriff Rawlings has been trying to put them away for several years, but they can only be tied to misdemeanors so far. If they're involved, things won't be going too well for your friend there."

Halie pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number. "Caroline, it's Halie – yes, everything is great. We're having a wonderful time. Hey, is dad in? Can you put me through to him?" There was a slight pause. "Hi, dad, it's Halie. Hey, you got a minute? I have a New York police detective who wants to speak to you. No, sir, Jonah didn't do anything wrong – he's behaving himself quite nicely. It's about that Ferrari from the chop shop. I think I've located the owner."

Halie handed her phone to Beckett.

# # # # # # # # #

After a brief conversation, Beckett handed the phone back to Halie. "I'd like to thank you for your help, Halie. You've been a great asset and I think you'll do wonderful as an ME."

Halie blushed slightly. "Thank you, Detective Beckett." Her phone buzzed. "That's Jonah. He's back at the hotel, so I really should be going." She quickly wrote some a phone number on a piece of paper. "Call me if you think of anything."

"Thanks, Halie, and thank you for your help." Kate walked the young woman to the elevator.

"Detective Beckett, I hope everything works out for your friend." Halie waved as the elevator doors closed.

Beckett walked into Gate's office. "Sir, we have a lead in the case." They spoke for a minute and then Beckett came back out.

"Pack up," she said. "We're going to Second Chance, West Virginia."

# # # # # # # # # #


	9. Chapter 9

Author's notes: Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of warnings about Castle endangerment, the freeing of "little Castle," language. And it's short because I wanted a cliff-hanger.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 9**

The rain had started in earnest shortly after Clyde and Billy left, coming down in torrents, leaking through the partial roof of the cabin, but not close enough to Castle to get him too wet.

Knowing the longer he waited to do this, the worse it was going to be, Castle carefully scooted back against the grate as close as he could and grabbed the zippered region with his right hand so that no extra stress was put on it. He gritted his teeth and struggled to his knees, turning his right side to the grate, his left hand by his face because of the length of the chain. The problem was that he could only use one hand to try to unzip his jeans, so he pressed his right hip into the grate to stabilize the material.

Once he was in position, the question was just to yank, band-aid method, or do it slowly, a little at a time? He chose the latter and slowly worked the zipper down, stopping when the pain became too bad before starting again, until he was free and then sagged, trembling in pain. He would have stayed like this, but now, to add insult to injury, his bad knee was killing him because of the pressure he was putting on it. Not bothering to zip his jeans up again, he carefully sat back down. Shit, he thought as he looked down – that was a lot of blood. Hopefully it would stop before he bled to death – that would be one hell of an obituary – Richard Edgar Castle, murder writer extraordinaire, zippered to death.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The thunder and lightning woke Castle from his stupor. How long had it been, he thought, but the storm outside made it hard to distinguish between night and day. Odd shadows danced on the walls of the cabin because of the wildly swaying trees outside, giving Castle the impression of animals stalking him. He tried to swallow and reached for a bottle of water, only to remember he had run out yesterday…or had it been the day before? He almost laughed – because of the storm, there was plenty of water around him, but none that he could get to. He leaned his head back against the grate and closed his eyes. He knew most people could only last three days without water so now his life was really in the hands of his captors.

Castle slipped back into the semi-delusional state he had been in, thinking of Kate and how he had really wanted to marry her.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

The odd flashes of light brought Castle a little closer to consciousness, only to find a dog's growling face inches from his when he managed to open his eyes. Yeah, he was definitely a goner and found at this point, he really didn't care. As he slowly roused, he could hear someone moving in the cabin but couldn't make out who it was in the darkness. He had almost drifted off again when he felt the manacles being unlocked and his arms falling limply to his side. The person – Clyde mostly likely at this point come to kill him – rolled him over on his side and onto a tarp and then slowly started to drag him out of the cabin down to the river.

Castle wanted to protest, to say that he wasn't finished living yet – that he hadn't finished his bucket list – when he felt the cold water wrap its icy arms around him, drawing the warmth from his body and the breath from his lungs.

# # # # # # # # # # #


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Okay, so I'm not making you wait too long to find out what happened to Castle 'cus that's just plain mean. Again, thanks for all the reviews – you guys are awesome.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of warnings about topics. And I'm making up some of the stuff in this chapter from comments and things that happen on the show, so it can be considered AU – just some of my many theories about Castle's childhood.

**The Call – Chapter 10**

It was the light flittering across his face that finally woke Castle, that and the fact that he wasn't cold and wet and didn't stink to high heaven anymore. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes and slowly blinked them open, wondering where he was now and how he had gotten there. The last thought that he could remember had been that Clyde had come back to drown him in the river and he'd never see his family and Kate again.

From the sounds outside, it was obvious he was still in the woods, but this time the cabin was clean and looked well lived in from what he could see. He couldn't hear anyone else inside though.

He stared at the IV attached to his arm and slowly rolled onto his side, ignoring the stiffness in his muscles.

Suddenly there was a deep woof next to the side of the bed and then a dog's head popped up to greet him. The tail thumped voraciously as the black lab sat his front paws on the bed and stretched towards Castle as a way of greeting.

"Arrow, down," came a female voice from the front porch. "What have I told you about getting on the bed?" A tall woman about his mother's age walked through the door and sat a basket full of flowers on the table. "Well, dear, I'm glad to see you're finally among the living again. I was getting a little worried."

"Wh—" Castle coughed hoarsely as he tried to find his voice. "Where am I?"

"Certainly not where you were, Richard. Here, let me raise you up a little," she said as she adjusted the hospital bed and then handed him a glass of water from the table beside the bed. "Not too fast. How do you feel?" she said as she felt his forehead with the back of her hand, frowning. He still felt a little warm for her liking.

"Like I've been run over by a truck," Castle commented wryly.

"Unfortunately, being in the condition you were in can do that to you. I bet you're starving and I've got just the thing," she said, patting him on the shoulder. "Arrow, down," she reprimanded the dog firmly as she walked out of the room.

Castle smiled as his stomach growled at the thought of food. It had been so long that he had has something decent to eat and his nose was beginning to detect the delicious aroma of chicken soup.

The woman walked back into the room, carrying a lap tray with a bowl on it. She sat it down on the table and turned to Castle. "Why don't I raise the head of the bed a little more?"

Once she had him comfortably adjusted, she put a towel over his lap and placed the tray on top. "How's the soup?" she asked as Castle spooned up a mouthful.

"Hmmm – wonderful," he replied. He knew the flavor but couldn't quite place it.

She sat down in the chair next to the bed and watched him eat. "And now that you're awake for more than 10 minutes at a time, I think we can get rid of the IV."

Castle paused for a minute. "How long have I been here?"

"A little over two days," replied the woman. "I had been out of town for a couple of weeks and noticed that the boys had been here, so I went to the old cabin to see what they had taken. That's when I found you."

Castle almost choked on the spoonful of soup he was eating and swallowed quickly. "You know Clyde and Billy?" he asked cautiously.

"Unfortunately you can't choose your relatives. They're my cousin's grandsons." The woman shrugged. "But that's a story for later. Do you want some more?" she asked, motioning to the bowl.

Castle would have liked to have said yes, but he was full, even from that small amount, since he hadn't had much to eat lately. "No, but it was very good. Thank you." He paused. "There's a spice in it that I can't place."

"Ah, I put in a little mint and fresh lemon today. I like experimenting."

Castle nodded as he wiped his mouth on the napkin. He felt like he was missing something here but couldn't figure out what it was. "Thank you," he said finally. "You saved my life."

"It was my pleasure, dear," said the woman, smiling warmly at him as she took the tray. "Let me put this up and then we'll make you more comfortable."

The woman was back in a few minutes with some supplies and quickly removed the IV, placing a band aid over the spot. "Now let's see if you have any sea legs." She helped Castle sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed. Arrow nudged closer to Castle's legs as he put his feet on the floor. "Arrow's taken quite a liking to you – it looks like you have a protector. Let's just sit here for a minute and see how it goes."

Castle was happy to oblige since he felt lightheaded and weak at the movement. He looked down and frowned again – why was he in a hospital gown? And more importantly, how had he gotten in a hospital gown? And what had happened to his clothes, not that he wasn't going to throw them away the moment he found them?

"Relax, dear, I've been an ER nurse for more than 40 years," said the woman.

"Oh," said Castle quietly, as if that made this any better.

"Well, I couldn't just leave you in the sorry state you were in, Richard. Now, let's see about getting you up and out of bed for a little while." She positioned herself by his side, but let him stand on his own, ready to guide him back onto the bed if he fell.

The woman was a little taller than his mother, but there, the similarities ended. While Martha had a lean build, this woman was stocky, what Castle would describe as muscularly built, a characteristic that would serve her well in the ER. Her clothes were simple – a button-down pull over and a pair of jeans – and she wore no makeup, her hair pulled back in a grey streaked pony tail. But like his mother, she had this vibrant quality about her that made her brown eyes sparkle.

Unsteady on his feet, Castle swayed for a moment until the dizziness passed.

They carefully walked around the quaint two-room structure, pausing at the bathroom for a moment – yes, she laughed, they have indoor plumbing even in the mountains and electricity she pointed out a moment later.

Castle noted the laptop sitting on the dining room table.

"It's not much good right now," said the woman. "The storm knocked out the dish up the hill and it's just been too rainy to go fix it. But now that you're awake, I can leave Arrow in charge and take care of that tomorrow so we can get you back to civilization." She patted the dog trailing behind them on his head. "The storm knocked out the bridge on the main road, and it's a 5 mile hike to get to the service road and the creek is probably impassable at this point, so Walt is going to have to bring Big Bessie up here to get you."

She helped Castle settle back on the bed. "And now that you're wake, I really need to change the bandages again and see how things are progressing."

After Castle had settled on the bed, she moved the hospital gown aside. "Sorry, this may pull a little bit," she said as she removed a bandage from his chest.

"So exactly where I am?" Castle asked as the woman worked.

"About 25 miles northeast of Foxsborough, West Virginia, in the foothills of the Monongahela National Forest. There are a few cabins up here, off the beaten path."

"Hmmm," said Castle. He certainly wasn't where he thought he was.

"There," said the woman as she finished bandaging the cuts on his chest. She paused for a moment. "Now I need to check your other wounds."

"Ah, okay," Castle said slowly. Pressing his lips into a thin line, Castle lay still on the bed and willed his body not to react as she gently picked him up and unwrapped the bandage. "Sorry," he said as he twitched at her touch.

"Like I said, dear, I've been an ER nurse for more than 40 years. There's nothing you can do that will surprise me. And I would have been more worried if you didn't have a reaction. That's a fairly bad cut. I take it you made Clyde mad," she said as she gently cleansed and then smoothed antibiotic cream on the area.

Castle closed his eyes and listened as the woman hummed to herself as she worked, finally picking up on the tune—suddenly his eyes flew open wide. "Mrs. Newman," he squeaked several octaves higher than he intended.

"Ah, and there's the other reaction I expected. Relax, Richard, I spent several years changing your diapers."

"But I was a lot smaller then," stammered Castle, suddenly blushing at his choice of words.

"That is true," commented Mrs. Newman matter-of-factly as she continued her administrations.

Castle clenched his hands, glad all the blood was in his face and not elsewhere, while Mrs. Newman continued.

His mother had been the resident social butterfly of the building he grew up in and Mrs. Newman had been the resident go-to person when someone was sick or hurt. And it wasn't as if she hadn't seen him before, especially after the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad kickball incident where Dewey had claimed he had maimed Castle for life. That hadn't been the case fortunately, but still, the whole thing had been very embarrassing for the 11 year old who had finally convinced his mother that he could stay home alone without anything happening while she went to a meeting.

He relaxed as she finished. "Well, that doesn't look as bad as it could be, but you definitely want a doctor to check it and you shouldn't get frisky any time soon," she said, making the same comment that her husband Newt had made to the very embarrassed boy who replied, "Eww – gross – never."

"Now, do you want to stay in the bed or sit in the chair for a while? And then I'll find you some of Newt's clothes for you to change in to. You're about the same size so that shouldn't be a problem."

Castle opted for the chair and watched Mrs. Newman walk into the other room before looking out the window. Now that he wasn't chained up and starving anymore, being in the woods was actually quite pleasant.

He smiled as he thought about the Newman's. The lady he saw now didn't look at all like the Edith Newman he had known growing up. Back then, her hair had been short, nails perfectly polished, and makeup always done. She was, of course, 20 years older than the last time he had seen her which had been at his college graduation.

It was true – she had saved his life this time, but to him, she had saved it several times before when they lived in the same building – if not his life, then at least his stomach from one more frozen meal or peanut butter sandwich. Martha wasn't exaggerating when she said that she saved her talents for something other than cooking.

Most people assumed incorrectly by looking at him and how he handled himself that Castle had been around money all his life, but when he was growing up, that hadn't always been the case. Martha had been a Broadway diva, but they had indeed been "broke dirt poor" several times as she so eloquently put it. Life in the theater was always feast or famine, and, while she was good at saving money, sometimes the unexpected would happen – a play would close early, a promised part fell through, an unexpected bill had to be paid, so there were tough choices to be made.

Martha had always seen to it that they had a roof over their heads and a safe place to live, and she insisted that Richard have the best education she could buy, so there were times when she had to decide between feeding Richard and paying the heating bill in the winter or the electric bill in the summer.

When that happened, she simply made a game of it – in the winter, he would come home from school to find her setting up blanket tents in the living room. Her comment was that this was as close to camping as he would ever get because she simply didn't camp in the woods, but boys needed to know how to do that. In the summer, they'd spend long days at the library, escaping the city heat.

Fortunately, Newt Newman, Edith's husband, had taken care of the camping problem and invited Richard along when he and his nephews and nieces went camping.

And when Mrs. Newman found out about Martha's lack of culinary skills, she taught Castle how to cook basic items so he wouldn't starve in exchange for him bringing up her groceries. Those were wonderful times, he reflected, standing on the kitchen stool, watching as she blended items together to create unique smells and tastes. Maybe she would appreciate his "smorelette."

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

On his next trip to the bathroom, Castle took a hard look at himself in the mirror and ran a hand through the thick beard that had grown in the last couple of weeks. He was tempted to keep it to see what Kate thought, but the hair had always irritated his neck. He picked up the scissors that Mrs. Newman had left on the counter and slowly trimmed the hair down to a reasonable length before taking the razor and shaving some of it off. Hmmm, maybe a Fu Manchu or a goatee, he thought as he swirled the shaving cream around his face, but finally decided he liked the clean shaven look and quickly finished shaving the rest of it off.

Castle frowned at the reflection – with the beard gone, the bruises on his face stood out more. Maybe shaving hadn't been such a good idea after all.

Next, he ran a hand through his hair, much longer now than he usually wore it and decided that he better wait to get a proper hair cut when he got back to civilization.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Later that evening, after they ate, Mrs. Newman lit a small fire in the fireplace as Castle, now ensconced in one of Newt's robes and pjs, settled into an arm chair. She then brought out her famous to-die-for chocolate chip cookies that Castle could never resist and a glass of cold milk for him and a cup of herbal tea for her.

Castle hummed with delight as he slowly ate one, savoring the blend of flavors, and then sipped the milk. "These are just as good as I remember them." He frowned at one of the cookies. "You know, I've tried to replicate your recipe several times but just can't get it quite right."

"Thank you, Richard," Mrs. Newman said simply. "Maybe I'll share it with you someday. Newt always said they were like magic," she said, smiling at the picture on the mantel. "He said they could heal a hurt, mend a broken heart, or fix any problem."

That was true, thought Castle – they had indeed done that for him on several occasions – the days Martha "packed" his lunch, the day he almost failed the 5th grade, the day Martha told him he was going to boarding school while she went on tour, the day he arrived at Edgewick Academy, and the days when Kyra left and his divorce from Meredith became final, thanks to his mother.

The fact that other people found the cookies almost irresistible was something he used to his best advantage both in private school and boarding school. During lunch, he found that if he took the cookies out of his bag first, most kids would trade what they had for his, much to the dismay of the teachers.

At Edgewick, he would share the cookies with some of the boys in his dorm whenever he got a large box of them, and a dozen of the cookies quickly became one of the green chip standards of currency in their weekly, slightly illegal never spoken of poker game.

Castle looked at the picture of Mr. Newman on the mantle. "You know, I never got to thank you properly for everything you did for us, for me, when I was growing up."

"It was our pleasure," Mrs. Newman replied, sipping her tea. "We were never blessed with children, but we had so many of you in our lives that we practically considered you our own."

Castle paused for a few moments. "And I'm sorry I didn't stay in touch with you. I should have."

"You had your own life to lead and from what I've read, it's been a very active life," smiled Mrs. Newman. "Newt was a fan of your books and read every one. He was fit to be tied when you killed off Derek Storm."

"A decision that I'm sure will haunt me for the rest of my days," Castle chuckled and then paused. "If you don't mind my asking..."

"Cancer – about a year ago. He went in for the flu and was dead 6 weeks later," Mrs. Newman said simply. "He died here in the cabin that he loved so much. But we left New York years before that, so not many people knew. In fact, it's been quite a while since I talked with Martha. And I bet Alexis is almost grown now."

Castle nodded. "Yes, she is. She started college last fall. I'd show you pictures, but I don't have my cell phone." He thought for a moment and then asked, "So why did you move back here?"

"Newt's office was in WTC2," Mrs. Newman replied sadly. "The company was having a charity golf tournament on 9/11 and all of his people were supposed to be at it. But they were also working on a big merger, so they stopped by the office first to check some last minute details. Newt was already at the golf tournament so he wasn't there, and none of them survived. He was so heart-broken and couldn't get over what happened. About 6 months after that, I came home early from work and found him sitting in the bath tub with a gun in his mouth, so I immediately sold everything and moved us back here. He was never the same after that, but I think the change was good for him. He seemed happy at the end."

"I'm sorry to hear that," replied Castle. "And what about you?" Castle asked, concern in his voice.

Mrs. Newman smiled. "Oh, Richard, this is my home, so it was wonderful to be back even under those circumstances. New York was nice, but I really missed the great outdoors – the mountains, the trees. There is no comparison."

"So why did you go there?" Castle asked, always curious.

"I love my home, but I loved Newt more and that's where his job was. So I just traded my real mountains for man-made mountains. Of course, the air wasn't quite the same," joked Mrs. Newman.

They sat in silence for a while, studying the fire, before Mrs. Newman asked, "So, Richard, how's is it that you ran afoul of Clyde and Billy?"

"I wasn't paying attention and they were at a gas station I stopped at in Virginia." Castle frowned. "I think they tasered me after I paid them for the gas and they saw how much money I was carrying. Then I woke up in the cabin and they were holding me for ransom."

"That wouldn't surprise me," said Mrs. Newman grimly. "Things didn't turn out so well for them after their mother and grandparents were killed when they were 13 and they were sent to live with their uncle Abe McAlister." She motioned to a painting on the wall. "Clyde did that when he was 11 – he had such promise, but their uncle refused to let him draw – he said it just wasn't real work and he was going to make men out of those boys."

"What about their father?" Castle asked.

"We never saw him again after he found out that Delia was carrying twins." She smiled wistfully. "They said that Clyde got all the talent and brains, and Billy got all the heart, but they were both the sweetest children you would want to meet, not that Clyde didn't have a temper at times."

Mrs. Newman stirred her tea and continued. "After the accident, several people wanted to adopt Clyde and send Billy to a home, but Clyde threw a fit when he heard that. Newt and I tried to adopt them, my cousin tried to adopt them, but the judge said we were too old and had found out about Newt's mental breakdown, so he ruled in favor of Abe. He moved the boys out of state and we never saw much of them after that. I hear about them occasionally and it's never good news. Clyde had been expelled from most of the schools he attended for acting out, hurting others, and then finally dropped out. Billy certainly wasn't getting the help that he needed. But the judge wouldn't hear anyone's petitions after he awarded custody to Abe." She shook her head sadly. "It's no wonder they turned out like they did."

"I'm just glad you came along when you did," said Castle gratefully.

"Well, thank old Arrow here," Mrs. Newman said, bending over to rub the dog's head. "I could have sworn he was possessed the way he was barking and howling. But he made a trail straight to the cabin."

Arrow stood and stretched, and then walked to the door, looking back expectantly, wagging his tail.

"Yes, we're talking about you," said Mrs. Newman as she got up and opened the door. "Out you go and don't bring back anything that's dead," she called as the dog ran off in the shadows.

"Richard, do you want anything else tonight?" she asked.

"No, thank you, Mrs. Newman. That was great."

"Well, I'm just going to tidy up the kitchen a bit and then let Arrow back in before I go to bed. Stay up as long as you like." She kissed him on the top of his head as she passed by. "And, whatever the circumstances that brought you, I'm glad you're here, Richard. I've forgotten how nice it is to have company."

"Thank you again, Mrs. Newman."

Castle sat a while longer in the chair, staring at the picture that Clyde had drawn. The youthfulness was there but the budding talent was obvious.

Castle wasn't a man of much self-reflection, other than to make sure he was being the best parent he could to Alexis, but he wondered if he would have turned out like Clyde if things had been different. They both had life-changing events around the same age. Clyde's immediately family had died and suddenly he was alone, having to take care of a brother with obvious problems; Castle had been sent to boarding school and suddenly he was alone.

They both had been expelled from school numerous times, but Castle had been expelled because he was curious and just couldn't keep his hands off of things or got so distracted that he forgot to turn in assignments, not because he hurt other people.

But there, most of the similarities stopped. Except for the occasional talk with the head master to try to put him on the right path, Castle had been nurtured, his talent recognized and praised, even if it was a false talent in the beginning. For all intents and purposes, Clyde's talent had been squashed, even ridiculed by the one person who held sway over his life.

Would he have turned out to be the fairly easy-going jovial glass flowing over person he was if that had happened to him, or would he have turned out more like Clyde, angry at the world, a stoic mask hiding his inner turmoil?

Suddenly feeling tired and slightly old, Castle got up and made a quick stop to the bathroom, and then lay down in the hospital bed. He almost got up a second later when the thought crossed his mind that this was probably the very bed that Mr. Newman had died in, but then decided he was okay with that.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Mrs. Newman was already up feeding the chickens when Castle woke the next morning. A friendly woof from Arrow greeted him as he opened the door to the cabin and stepped out in the sunshine.

"Good morning, Richard," said Mrs. Newman. "How are you feeling today? There's fresh coffee in the kitchen if you want some."

Castle said a quick "thank you" and then got himself a cup of coffee and brought it back to the porch.

"How about chicken pot pie today?" Mrs. Newman asked.

"Sure," said Castle, remembering one of his favorite dishes that she prepared.

"Good," said Mrs. Newman as she picked up one of the chickens by the neck and quickly dispatched it.

He usually wasn't too squeamish, but Castle's eyes went wide at the sight and he rushed back inside to the bathroom, hurriedly placing the cup on the counter. It was a while before he came back outside, slightly paler than normal.

"Richard, are you okay?" Mrs. Newman asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," said Castle, coughing slightly. "It's just…" he said, pointing to the dead chicken that she was preparing.

Slightly perplexed, Mrs. Newman looked down at the chicken.

"When I make chicken pot pie," Castle explained, "the chicken hasn't been running around for quite a while."

"Really? Richard, I'm surprised at you – you murder people for a living."

"Yeah, but that's all make-believe. It's not like I've actually seen that being done to someone. Let me just say that 'running around like a chicken with its head cut off' takes on an entirely new meaning now." Castle thought for a moment and shivered. "Maybe I should start writing romance novels…"

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The pot pie was as delicious as he remembered, even if he did feel a little strange about eating something that had been alive just that morning.

Mrs. Newman had brought out her latest New York Post, which was two weeks old, for him to catch up on what was going on in the world.

"You know, Richard, I haven't seen much of you on page 6 anymore. Does that have anything to do with this Kate you talked about? And yes, dear, you do talk in your sleep," Mrs. Newman commented at Caste's quick look of surprise.

Castle smiled into the cup of coffee he was drinking and then frowned. "Yes, it does – it has everything to do with her. Detective Kate Beckett – the inspiration for Nikki Heat and the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person that I've ever met."

"And you are hopelessly in love with her," commented Mrs. Newman.

Castle shrugged and smiled wistfully. "Always," he said softly.

"Then why do I sense trouble in that area? Does Kate feel the same way?" she asked gently.

"I thought she did. We've certainly had our ups and downs – I'm pretty sure she hated me when we first met – well, maybe not hated, but she was really annoyed. I used my connections with the mayor to be around her and that didn't sit too well. I'm pretty sure she thought I was stalking her, which I kind of was."

"But you fell for her immediately?" asked Mrs. Newman.

"Pretty much," admitted Castle. "I knew when she stuck her badge in my face that she was someone I wanted to get to know better and just not in the page 6 way."

"So how long was it before you got together?"

Castle paused, reflecting on the past 5 years. "We had a lot of hit and misses through the years. She had a couple of boyfriends – I got back with Gina for a couple of months. Then she lied to me about remembering that I said I loved her when she was shot at Captain Montgomery's funeral, and I didn't tell her that I was trying to keep her from investigating her mother's murder to keep her safe. I thought we made it through all that and had everything worked out, but then Erik Vaughn happened," Castle pouted.

"Ah, Erik," said Mrs. Newman knowingly.

"See – even you know about him," Castle responded, with almost righteous indignation.

"Don't act surprised, Richard," Mrs. Newman chided. "I may choose to live in the mountains, but I'm not a hick and I'm not a hermit. He was one of Newt's clients, so yes, I know Erik Vaughn. And I do keep up with page 6, even if the news is a couple of weeks late."

Castle paused, deciding the best way to tell this without sounding like he was whining too much. "Vaughn was in New York a couple of months ago and someone tried to kill him. We were investigating and he decided he wanted Kate as his personal body guard, like he wanted to stake his claim with her. They were alone in his hotel drinking champagne and he asked about us and she couldn't answer and she almost let him kiss her. And now, nothing I do seems to be good enough," Castle said, pouring out his frustration. "She wanted to know where we were going and I didn't answer because I knew if I told her how serious I was, she might turn and run, like she's done in all her other relationships." He ran a hand through his hair. "Then I found a plane ticket – she had gone to Washington D.C. for a job interview without telling me and, when I found out, she said this was about her life, not about us. I was mad and decided that I wanted more, so I proposed, telling her it didn't matter where we were. But she said 'Not yet,' and went to Washington to start her new job without me. So, no, I don't know where we are," he said miserably. "I just know that we're not together."

"Wow," Mrs. Newman said quietly. "And you're still in love with her even after all that?"

Castle straightened, looking her in the eyes, and then looked away. "And that pretty much makes me a fool. But the heart wants what the heart wants."

"No," said Mrs. Newman, putting a hand under Castle's chin so that he was forced to look at her again. "That makes you the kind, forgiving man you've always been. You've seen her bad side and you're still willing to forgive and love her. Not many people would make that effort. That's what it takes to make a marriage successful." Mrs. Newman sat back in her chair, clapping her hands together. "So what are you going to do to get her back? Tell me about your favorite date. Maybe you could do that again?"

Castle thought for a moment. "Well, we really couldn't date in public because we worked together, so we mainly stayed in, which can get a little boring after a while," he admitted.

"So dating is not a problem now that she has another job and you're not working together," Mrs. Newman stated. "What about the museum? That was always one of your favorite places to go."

"We did go there once," Castle said brightly, but then frowned. "But a man had been murdered, as well as a girl who was turned into a mummy.

"Okay, how about the zoo?" Mrs. Newman suggested.

"We were almost eaten by a tiger once when a crazy lady handcuffed us together."

"So not the zoo then – how about a trip?" Mrs. Newman suggested. "Maybe to your house in the Hamptons?"

Castle shrugged. "Dead guy in the swimming pool so it wasn't much of a vacation. Oh, we went to LA a couple of years ago – but that was to catch the man who killed her ex-partner. And then we went skiing earlier this year. There weren't any bodies, but I broke my kneecap right after we got there, so we had to cut that trip short and I'm pretty sure Kate wanted to kill me for showing off," Castle said lamely.

"That doesn't sound like it worked out too well." Mrs. Newman nodded and paused. "What about charity events now that you can go out in public together? I remember seeing pictures of you and a beautiful brunette at a fund raiser event about 5 years ago. Was that Kate?"

"Sort of our first unofficial date, but we went to catch home invaders who had murdered someone," Castle replied.

"And then another event a couple of years ago at a fundraiser for a scholarship?" asked Mrs. Newman hopefully.

Castle smiled at the memory and then was serious. "That was the fund raiser for the Johanna Beckett law scholarship – Johanna was Kate's mother."

Mrs. Newman paused. "Richard, dear, do you sense a pattern here – how everything seems to revolve around murder? No wonder the poor girl is confused. You need to date away from work – preferably with no dead bodies around. And I'm sure you'll figure a way to get her back."

"Of course," Castle nodded, smiling. "What woman in her right mind would be unable to resist all of this ruggedly handsome charm?"

Mrs. Newman smiled fondly at him and Castle went back to staring forlornly into the fire, quickly squelching the little voice in his head that said he'd never be enough for Kate. He just had to hold on to hope because he knew Kate would show up at just the right time.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes: Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. And, sorry about the update on Chapter 8; I had Second Chance, Virginia, in the last line on that chapter. Nope, they're in West Virginia just because I like the name of one of their national forests.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of violence, which really isn't too graphic.

# # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 11**

The two black unmarked vans with D.C. plates rolling into Second Chance, West Virginia, in the early morning light set the town abuzz with speculation.

Clarice at the beauty salon said she heard a suspect in a high-profile murder case was holed up in the forest near their small town. Trevino at the post office said he heard the government was finally investigating the cover-up that closed the mine last year. Old Grison said it was an alien invasion and not of the earthly kind because of the strange lights he had seen in the sky near the airport last night, which Beckett thought Castle would thoroughly appreciate when she overheard it that morning at the local cafe while she was getting coffee.

But by noon, the entire town and all the other towns in the area knew without a doubt that the Cothern twins had done something to get into serious trouble, the FBI was now looking for them and their uncle, and they were to be considered armed and dangerous.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Kate, Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and two FBI agents had flown in the night before on a private jet that Martha had rented. Beckett had finally convinced her and Alexis to stay in New York until they had something definite and promised she would call them immediately when they had news, one way or the other.

Sheriff Sims picked them up at the airport and took them to his office so they could set up the command post to find the Cothern twins and hopefully Castle. He also confirmed it was indeed Clyde and Billy who were at the scene of the clerk's murder based on the fingerprints found on Castle's wallet. The judge had sealed their juvenile records, but Sims didn't need those fingerprints to know they had been there. Billy had gone noodling one time and actually caught a catfish using just his hands. He had been so excited but the monster had almost bitten his finger off, leaving an unusual scar that matched one of the fingerprints found on Castle's wallet.

With all local authorities in a 100-mile radius notified and several road blocks set up, the team settled down at the local motel for a short nap and early breakfast before starting the manhunt.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

When the FBI vans arrived the next morning, they quickly set up the equipment needed to monitor the cell phone number in the note Castle had left Beckett and all emergency radio frequencies in the area. The sheriff's office in Burlingville had confirmed that Clyde and Billy had been spotted in town at least two days ago and were still thought to be in the area. Park rangers in different areas of the national forest had also reported seeing Abe's old Chevy Silverado recently when the truck was turned back because of road blocks due to river flooding.

Now it was just a matter of time before they were found.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Just before noon, Clyde and Billy parked at the edge of the truck stop on the outskirts of Tarrington by several other pickups and waited for Abe. Both boys were restless, Billy because he was concerned about his mister man, and Clyde because he had finally figured out what to do about Uncle Abe now that they had the money from the Ferrari and the other money that Billy had shown him in the bag. Abe had kept them on tight leash and most people in the area wouldn't hire the two because of their past, so it felt good to have some freedom at last.

Clyde reached under the seat, grabbing the small 22 that the man who bought the Ferrari had included in the deal, and tucked it into the back of his belt. He would put it to good use on some deserted road when Abe least suspected it and then send the 18-wheeler crashing into oblivion. Then they truly would be free.

He straightened as he saw Abe's 18 wheeler in the distance. "Billy, go while you have the chance. You know Uncle Abe don't like to stop. And get snacks," he said, giving Billy a $20 and watching his brother's face light up.

"We're not going back for mister man?" Billy fretted.

"Abe set him free yesterday when we were in town," Clyde lied. "So he's gone now. Get me a Coke and some Cheetos – the hot kind."

"Sure," said Billy as he skipped past the other trucks and into the store.

Clyde walked over to where Abe had parked the 18 wheeler by one of the fuel pumps. "They never called and we couldn't get back to the cabin 'cus the rangers blocked the roads 'cus of the river. I'm pretty sure he's dead – it's been three days and he didn't have no water."

Abe swore. "What about the car?"

"That old tree fell on it when the storm first hit. Smashed it pretty good."

"Okay," nodded Abe. "We need to get outta here – move some place new. Where's Billy?"

Clyde motioned towards the store. "Bathroom and getting snacks. He'll be back in a minute."

Abe warily scanned the truck stop, looking to see who was there. "Park the truck behind the old library and meet me at the stop sign in half an hour. Put your bag in the cab first," Abe said, as he motioned to the bag that Clyde was carrying.

"Nah, I got it," Clyde replied, reluctant to let the bag out of his sight.

"Do what I say, boy," Abe said sternly, grabbing the bag off of Clyde's shoulder and slinging it inside the cab. "Half an hour or I leave you," he said, poking Clyde in the chest for emphasis.

Abe turned and started the pump to fill up the fuel tanks as Clyde walked back to the truck, scowling and cursing under his breath. It had been stupid to bring the bag with him when he should have left it in the truck, out of Abe's sight. If Abe found out what was in there…

# # # # # # # # # # #

Billy waited patiently in the bathroom, finished, and then washed his hands like Clyde showed him. He carefully looked around, saw he was alone, and then pulled out the cell phone in his pocket. He really had to make sure his mister man was okay, so he dialed the number that Clyde taught him.

"911 operator, what is your emergency?"

"I need to make sure mister man is okay. We were at the old ranger cabin and Cl—my brother said that they let him go yesterday. Can you go pick him up? I don't think he can walk too far and there may be wild animals that wants to eat him."

"Sir, what is your name and where are you? Do you have an emergency?"

"Not supposed to tell you 'cus you'd find me. But you need to check on mister man," Billy stated firmly and then hung up and pocketed the phone again.

He picked up a few snacks and drinks and walked over to the line at the register, patiently waiting his turn. As he was standing there, he heard the two teenage girls behind him giggling and looked to see what was so funny. That's when he noticed the picture of mister man on the back of the book that the girls were holding. Or at least he thought it was mister man but he couldn't be sure because his mister man had a beard – Clyde could tell him though when he looked at the picture.

Clutching the food and drinks to his chest, Billy grabbed the book out of the girls' hands and raced out the door, waving the book in the air. "Hey, Clyde – it's mister man!"

"That's ours! Come back here!" the girls yelled.

The store's security guard noticed the commotion and took off after Billy at the same time the two state troopers spotted Abe and called it in.

"Freeze!" the security guard yelled, pointing his gun at Billy. "Stop or I'll shoot."

# # # # # # # # # # #

At the command post, the device tracking Castle's cell phone lit up.

"Detective, we've got a ping off the cell phone tower near Tarrington, West Virginia." The FBI agent hurriedly pinpointed it on the map. "It's a 911 call. I'm contacting the operator now."

He handed the headset to Beckett, but before she could say anything, the call that Abe had been spotted at the Tarrington truck stop came over the airwaves, followed by the next radio call of "Shots fired. All units respond." and then a call about a gas pump fire.

The team ran to the cars without hesitating and sped towards Tarrington.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Clyde could only stare in shocked horror as he watched the scene in the parking lot unfold before him and quickly erupt into chaos.

As Billy ran toward where he thought Clyde was, not noticing the guard behind him, Abe drew his gun, firing two shots at the security guard. The first one missed the security guard, but the second one hit Billy, spinning him around and dropping him to the ground, the items he was carrying flying through the air.

The guard returned fire, missing Abe and hitting the hose on the fuel pump which exploded in a fireball, knocking Abe several feet backwards and spewing flames towards the 18-wheeler.

The state troopers quickly dragged Abe away from the burning truck and fuel pump, cuffing him and leaving him on the ground, while the station manager hit the emergency shut off switch for the gas pump.

A second state trooper car, an ambulance, and a fire truck all arrived at the same time, adding to the confusion.

The EMTs quickly assessed Billy's and Abe's conditions, strapping them onto stretchers and loading them into the ambulance, and then sped away with the siren blaring and the lights flashing, escorted by one of the state troopers.

The fire fighters foamed down the fuel pump, spilt diesel, and smoking 18-wheeler, slowly gaining on the fire.

With everyone's attention on the shooting and fire, Clyde quietly climbed out of the truck and put on a baseball hat and jacket, walking carefully around the shrubs until he was at the side of building, blending in with the shocked customers that one of the troopers had ushered into the area for safety.

Clyde carefully made his way through the crowd to where the items Billy had been carrying landed, looking to see what had set his brother off. The drink cans were dented and the contents had drained out, drenching the book Billy had been carrying. He carefully toed the book, flipped it over, and then stared at the picture. That son of a bitch had been lying this whole time – now he was going to pay. He bent down and picked up the book, stuffing it in his jacket pocket.

As he walked away, he could hear other sirens blaring in the distance.

# # # # # # # # #

The 20 minute drive that only took 10 minutes from Second Chance to Tarrington seemed to last forever to Beckett and the team.

By the time they got there, the fire at the pump was nearly out and the troopers had cordoned off the area.

Kate quickly got out of the car, walked over to the officer in charge, and identified herself and the team. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, and this is Detective Javier Esposito, Detective Kevin Ryan, and ME Lanie Parrish. What do you have?"

"Trooper Weaver, ma'am," the state trooper said, introducing himself. "We've taken two suspects into custody, both unresponsive at the moment. The one with burns was identified as Abe McAlister; the one with the gunshot wound is Billy Cothern. We've got officers ready to take their statements when we can question them."

"What about Clyde?" asked Sheriff Sims, surveying the scene. "Any sign of him?"

"No, but McAlister's pickup was found in the truck lot and that's his 18 wheeler," said the trooper, pointing to the smoldering vehicle. "Clyde must have been here."

Beckett pointed to the security cameras at the front of the store. "Let's see the footage from those for the last hour. Esposito, Ryan, talk with the witnesses and see what you can find out. Lanie, you're with me."

The manager led Beckett, Sims, and Parish into a back room where the equipment was set up and they slowly fast forwarded through the footage for the last hour.

The four views showed simultaneous footage from different views of the truck stop – the register, the front door, the gas pumps for the cars, and the gas pumps for the large trucks.

The register camera showed Billy grabbing the book from the girl and racing out the door; the front door camera showed Billy running into the parking lot and the security guard following him, then the shooting and subsequent explosion.

"There," said Sims as he pointed to a tall man with a baseball hat picking something up off the ground and then walking away. "That's Clyde."

Ryan came back in, carrying a bag dripping foam. "This was in the 18-wheeler. It's definitely Castle's," he said, pointing to the luggage tag. "And it's full of money," he continued, pulling out a stack of money.

"Yo, Beckett, looks like someone's a fan," said Espo as he walked into the room, holding up one of Castle's books he had picked up from the book stand.

"So they didn't know who they had kidnapped and they do now," said Beckett, frowning, not liking the implications.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Avoiding the cameras, Clyde walked through the remote parking lot of the truck stop, where the commuters parked, and quickly picked the door lock on the first 4-wheel drive vehicle he came across. Then it was a simple task to break the locking pin on the steering column, start the vehicle by connecting some of the wires, and drive away.

He knew a back way to the ranger cabin that wouldn't involve any of the roadblocks and the river had already started falling so it would be safe to ford the small streams in the area now.

An hour later with his gun in hand, Clyde walked through the front door of the cabin and then stopped short and cursed, looking at the empty chains. He was pretty sure that Aunt Edith had been here to unlock the writer, but had he been alive? Or had he managed to get out himself and was hiding out somewhere? Finding him was his best hope for getting his brother back and getting money to get out of here.

Clyde walked out the back door and then paused as he heard a noise in the tree stand several yards from the house, catching movement out of the corner of his eye.

He slowly lifted his gun and took aim at the trees. At the next movement, he fired, the bullet striking its mark as whatever he shot plunged through the trees, running away.

Clyde followed and then almost tripped over the dead hog in a small clearing. He cursed again, picking up a rock and throwing it at the animal. When the animal didn't move, he walked over to it, nudging it with his foot.

He didn't want to attract any wild animals in case he had to come back here, so he picked up one of the hind legs and dragged the hog down to the river and pushed it in with a splash.

Then he walked back to the car and started up the mountain to where Aunt Edith's cabin was, determined to get what he thought the world owed him.

# # # # # # # # # # #


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes: Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. Sorry I don't update faster; as much as I'd like to spend all my time writing fanfic, real life gets in the way. I think the trick is to already have the story written and then post it in parts. It always amazes me how many writers post chapters so quickly. Thanks for your patience. Yes, there will be a Castle/Beckett reunion. I always have them getting back together again in my stories. And sorry about Chapter 10 having some extra stuff at the end – it was an idea I was trying to work into the story, but couldn't figure out a good way to do it – Castle complaining that Erik was making a move on Beckett with Mrs. Newman reminding him that is exactly what he used to do in his playboy days.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of warnings about topics and once again, Castle endangerment.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 12**

By the time the team arrived back at the sheriff's office, the FBI agent had Billy's 911 call pulled up.

After they listened to it, Sims walked over the map of the forest on the wall and placed push pins in three different locations. "These are the old ranger cabins that Billy might have been talking about. I'll have the park rangers check them out."

The first report came back negative – no one had been at the cabin.

On the second call, the park ranger asked to speak to Sims privately.

Beckett watched him talking on the phone before he turned his back on her. The conversation was purposely vague, with several Uh-huhs and confirmations.

Sims hung up the phone and then walked over to where the team was working.

"I think we've found the location, but no one's there now. It looks like someone has been there recently though. It'll take us about an hour to get there." He looked at the heels Kate was wearing. "Got any hiking boots with you?"

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

When Castle woke late that morning, he found the note from Mrs. Newman on the counter in the kitchen:

_Richard, I'm going to fix the dish and should be back in a couple of hours. Breakfast is in the refrigerator. If you go walking, stay on the paths. We've had a lot of poachers in the area recently and they've put out traps. I've put a set of Newt's clothes on the couch for you. Edith_

Castle took the plate from the refrigerator and put it in the microwave. He found the clothes on the couch – a set of Newt's old sweatpants, t-shirt, a pair of old tennis shoes, and socks.

As the food was warming up, Castle quickly changed in the bathroom, looking at his reflection in the mirror and running his hand through his hair – hmmm, maybe a pony tail would give him a more dangerous appearance and possibly an earring. He shook his head suddenly – being out here had definitely affected his mind.

Castle took the plate of food out of the microwave, grabbed a cup of coffee, and walked out to the porch. As he sat down on the rocking chair, he was immediately joined by Arrow, who sidled up to him and leaned against his leg, looking up with starving puppy dog eyes. Mrs. Newman had warned him about the dog's begging ways, but Castle had always had a soft spot in his heart for animals and Arrow received several bites, in addition to licking the plate clean after Castle finished.

Castle sat for a while, slowly sipping his coffee, just enjoying being alive and out in nature, and now also anxious to call Alexis, his mother, and Kate to let them know he was okay.

Suddenly Arrow rose up and growled low in his throat, his hackles standing up on his neck. Castle was immediately on alert and scanned the woods next to the cabin. He relaxed when he saw the large rabbit in a nearby pile of leaves near the tree stand.

"Go on," he said to Arrow. The dog looked at him and then bounded off after the rabbit, barking and chasing it into the woods.

Castle relaxed back in the chair, dosing in the warm sun. The quietness of the woods finally caught his attention and he was about to sit up when he felt the cold press of a gun against his throat.

"So, mr. fancypants writer – I think you're worth a lot more than $50 grand – I'm thinking a couple of mill at least," Clyde breathed in his ear. "So we're gonna go into town and get my brother and my money. Then we're gonna disappear. And if you're lucky, I might not kill you. Now stand up slowly and put your hands behind your back."

Castle slowly stood, letting the plate and coffee cup drop to the porch, and slowly turned around, doing at Clyde instructed. Clyde quickly tied his wrists together and put another rope around his neck and jerked him off of the porch.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Even with the recent rains, the smell in the cabin was so strong that Lanie had to cover her nose with her hand when she walked in after Esposito and Ryan gave the all clear sign, giving her the look not to let Beckett come in. She quickly got to work, taking various samples around the cabin, especially by the grate, and putting them back in her bag for analysis at the lab. The one test she did run confirmed that the blood type found in the cabin matched Castle's blood type.

She stepped back outside and walked to where Kate stood against the car. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was here. The blood type matches. I'm sorry, sweetie."

Esposito walked up, holding an evidence bag in his gloved hand. "Found these down by the river – silk boxers, jeans, button-down shirt. I'm pretty sure these are Castle's," he said. "Ryan's down there doing a sweep."

Kate and Lanie walked down to where Ryan and the officers stood, scanning the river.

"It looks like something heavy was dumped in the river a couple of hours ago," said Sims. "I've called in the dive teams for here and a couple of miles downstream. We've some time before sundown." He paused and then looked at Beckett. "I'm sorry, but we're considering this a retrieval now, not a rescue."

Kate nodded slowly. "I understand."

**# # # # # # # # # # # #**

Judging from the amount of sweat pouring down Castle's face, they had been walking for miles and he had stumbled a few times, trying to keep up with Clyde's fast pace, the rope burning into his neck each time Clyde jerked on it.

"So where are you and Billy going to go, once you get him and your money? Montana? Alaska?" Castle continued hoarsely. It also felt like he had been talking for hours, trying to make a dent in the boy's shell.

Clyde peered back at him and kept walking. "Don't matter none to you."

"Well, if it was me, I'd take Alaska – wide open spaces, not many people – you can live off the land. Wouldn't take much money. But then again, there's the sub-zero temperatures and the blizzards and the grizzly bears – maybe Montana is better – not so cold there."

"Will you shut up? I don't wanna hear no more of your yapping," said Clyde as he pulled on the rope, causing Castle to choke and stumble, falling on his knees. "Get up."

"What about your brother, Clyde? What does Billy get out of this?" Castle said as he stalled for time, panting.

"You think I'm stupid, mister? That I don't know what you're doing," said Clyde, kneeling in front of Castle, his face inches away from the writer's. "Move it."

Castle looked at Clyde intently. "No," he said in a low forceful tone, not backing down. "I know what it's like to be broke, dirt poor. I know what it's like to be abandoned. I think the people around you have made bad choices and you've paid the consequences. I think you're young and you've gotten into something that you don't know how to get out of. I think you'd do anything for your brother, but this isn't going to end well for Billy. He may get killed; even worse, he could go to prison. Do you think he could survive that, being able to only go outside for 1 hour a day?" Castle paused. "Let me help you."

Clyde hesitated and Castle knew he hit his weak spot. "No – you're just like everybody else," Clyde said finally, shaking his head, moving back. "We don't need nobody. And once we get the money and I get Billy back, we'll be out of here. Now get up."

Castle slowly got to his feet, grimacing at the pain in his bad knee.

# # # # # # # # # # #

The dive team had arrived a short time later and started searching the river, while the team waited near the cars.

Kate waved away the cup of coffee Lanie offered her and stared out at the river. No, she thought – it couldn't end like this.

The radio in Sims's car went off and he answered it, and then turned to Beckett. "Sorry, Detective, but I've got another emergency in town and have to get back. Your team is welcome to stay here or ride back with me, but there's nothing more you can do here right now. They'll let us know if they find anything."

Kate and the team briefly looked at each other and then she nodded. "Thank you, Sheriff Sims, we'd appreciate that."

She cast one last look at the river and then stoically climbed into the car. Beckett knew she wouldn't make any phone calls until they had definite proof of what happened.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Castle balked when they got to the stream they had to forge to get to the waiting car. It was only knee deep but looked like it was running fairly swiftly by the looks of the foam splashing against the rocks and the noise the rushing water made.

"What's the problem now?" demanded Clyde when Castle stopped.

"I'm not going to be able to do this with my hands tied behind my back," Castle said.

"Untie you?" scoffed Clyde.

"At least tie my hands in front of me so I can use them for balance. Or would you prefer that I drowned and you don't get your money?" Castle snapped at him.

Clyde swore and then undid the rope holding Castle's hand. He quickly tied them in front of Castle and then pushed the gun into his back, making him step into the stream.

Castle carefully navigated the slippery rocks, feeling the force of the water push against his legs. If he survived, he might be able to use this in one of his novels, but he had decided that "hands on" research was really overrated. He almost fell a couple of times as the rate of the current changed from mild to strong and then back, when Clyde cursed suddenly and made a loud splash as he slipped on a loose rock, dropping the rope that he held.

Adrenaline pumping, Castle didn't waste a glance behind him as he threw caution to the wind, grabbed the rope around his neck, and quickly struggled to get to the other side of the stream before Clyde got his footing back. He was already in the woods when Clyde reached the side of the stream and let loose several shots, narrowly missing Castle.

The race plunged deeper into the woods, with Clyde narrowing Castle's lead, as they dodged through the trees and the underbrush. Despite Mrs. Newman's warnings, Castle avoided the open areas, keeping to the trees even though it hindered his progress. It also blocked Clyde's shooting at him, or so he thought until one bullet creased the outside of his thigh, tripping him up.

He could hear Clyde coming, so he hid in some underbrush and clamped his hand over his mouth to stifle the wheezing noises he was making. Oh, Beckett was going to kick his ass when he got back because he was so out of shape now. And he sure hoped he wasn't hiding in poison something and would break out in a hideous rash.

Castle held his breath as Clyde ran past him and then he heard him stop.

"Come on, mr. fancypants writer, I know you're out here. You can't get away. These are my woods and I know every—" Clyde's comment was cut short by a loud clang and an unearthly scream as a trap snapped around his ankle.

Castle let out the breath he was holding and sucked air into his tortured lungs as spots swam before his eyes. He shouted a silent thank you to the universe and held on to a tree to slowly pull himself to his feet.

He started to stumble away from the area, but the boy's moans of pain made him stop. Shit, he thought, why did he have to be the guy who had to try to fix everything?

Castle turned around and slowly approached the area where Clyde lay, clutching his ankle. Only when Castle saw that the gun was well out of Clyde's reach, did he walk to where Clyde could see him.

"Yeah," Castle said. "You know the woods really well."

"Mister," Clyde whimpered. "You can't just leave me here – I'll bleed to death or an animal will get me."

"You should have thought about that earlier," Castle said as he picked up the gun and then walked over to Clyde. He examined the trap and decided that he couldn't get it off himself.

"Where's your knife?" Castle asked.

Clyde looked at him in fear. "You gonna cut off my foot?"

"No, I can't get the trap off and I can't carry you, so I'm going to mark a trail that leads to you so the police can find you. And if you're lucky, they'll be here before dark. Or I could just leave you here."

"In my boot," Clyde said finally.

Castle reached down and pulled out the knife out of Clyde's boot. It took him a minute, but he finally cut the ropes off of his wrists and then untied the rope around his neck. "What about the car keys?"

"Don't need 'em," gasped back Clyde.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Castle said rhetorically. He patted Clyde's chest as he stood, almost enjoying the turn of events. "Don't let any wild animals eat you before I get back."

He stood and looked around. "Uh, which way do I go?"

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Sheriff Sims and then team were half way back to Tarrington when they saw "Big Bertha", the tallest truck that they had ever seen, barreling down the road towards them. Doc Wilson waved Sims down.

"Just got a call from Eddie – she got back a couple of days ago and found that Castle guy at the ranger cabin and took him to her cabin. She finally got the antenna fixed this morning, but when she got back, he was gone. She thinks Clyde was there. I'm going up the back way to see if I can find them."

Spirits buoyed, the team quickly climbed out of Sim's car and into the truck, and headed up the mountain.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

Contrary to Clyde's comment that the car was right down the path and just around the corner, Castle was sure that he had been lied to and had walked at least another 5 miles before reaching the car.

He was also sure that he was dying of heat exhaustion and blood poisoning from the bullet graze as he limped up to the car.

Castle leaned against the door and rested a few moments before opening it and climbing inside. He swore as he looked at the tangle of wires and the broken drive shaft – whoever had taught Clyde to steal cars didn't know what they were doing.

Castle pressed his lips together as he touched two of the wires together and waited for the engine to catch, but it never did. He then tried the lights but they didn't turn on – dead battery – just his luck.

He leaned back against the seat, resting his head against the headrest. He would just sit here for a little while and then walk to the main road. With his luck, someone would come along in the next couple of weeks to find his withered body beside the road and take him home to New York.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The rumble in his chest woke Castle – Abe, he hadn't thought about him showing up in his 18-wheeler, looking for him and Clyde. Not much he could do about that right now though, but he shouldn't be here. He had lost the gun on the long hike to the car so he had no defense against the uncle.

The part of his mind that could still register bodily sensations knew several things – his right leg had collapsed under him as he got out of the car, confirming his suspicion that he had hurt his knee again, and he was now sprawled in a very undignified position in the dirt. He straightened up against the front tire of the car, resigned to his fate, and wearily closed his eyes.

He opened them again as the truck came into sight. What the hell? part of his brain thought as he saw the tall truck that reminded him of the monster truck pull that he had taken Alexis and some friends to. It was loud and smelly, and the smoke was ridiculous, but the girls squealed with delight when they had been driven around the stadium in a pink monster truck, courtesy of his special tickets.

The one that was rolling toward him was sort of similar, he thought as he stared at it and then closed his eyes again, only to be woken by a rough lick on the face.

Hmmm, maybe he could work that into a book – Nikki licking Rook on the face to wake him up – nah, that probably wouldn't be too sexy, especially when her breath smelled identical to Arrow's, but she definitely liked treats and pool parties.

Castle waved his arm, pointing to the trail he had marked. "Up there, boy – go eat him," he said as he closed his eyes again.

The next sensations he felt was a cool hand stroking his face and a voice calling his name. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled as Kate came into view.

"Hey, Castle," Kate said, kneeling down next to him, smiling back.

"Hey, you got my messages."

"You know," Castle said, closing his eyes, "when we have kids, I'm teaching them how to hot wire cars properly."

"Yeah, right," scoffed Beckett. "And I'm going to be the bad cop telling them why they shouldn't?"

"No, seriously," said Castle earnestly. "What if there's a zombie hoard after them? Uncle Espo can be the bad cop – you can teach them how to fly the space ship for when the aliens attack." Castle's voice petered out as he closed his eyes.

"Castle – Rick!" Kate said insistently as she shook him. "Stay with me."

"Not going anyplace – battery's dead," Castle mumbled as he closed his eyes again. He opened them briefly a moment later to look at Kate. "You gonna be here when I wake up?"

Kate smiled at him as Castle went limp. "Always," she said, cradling his head in her lap.

# # # # # # ## # #


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Notes: Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome. And yes, we're almost at the end.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of warnings about topics and once again, Castle endangerment.

# # # # # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 13**

It had already been several hours since Castle arrived by ambulance at the Webster Springs County Hospital, the closest hospital to Second Change and Tarrington. Kate and Esposito sat uneasily in the waiting area, each making the phone calls that needed to be made, Esposito calling Captain Gates with an update and Kate calling Martha and Alexis with the good news. The two FBI agents had returned to Second Chance to wrap up the investigation and head back to their home office now that the situation had been resolved.

Kevin and Lanie had driven out to the local airport to meet Martha and Alexis who would arrive shortly and bring them back to the hospital.

Beckett looked up as Doc Wilson, a kindly looking semi-elderly gentleman, walked into the area with a chart in his hands. He smiled at them as he walked over.

"Well, your boy seems to be doing just fine. However, we are a little concerned that he hasn't woken up yet, but he was severely dehydrated and his temperature was a little high when he was brought in. We're giving him plenty of fluids now. As soon as his mother and daughter get here, I can give you a complete update, but from what I see, he'll be as good as new in time. Ralph is in there now changing the bandages—"

Doc Wilson was interrupted by Castle shouting, "Get your hands off of me!" and a loud crash.

The first thing Castle saw when he woke was a young man standing over him. "Hey, dude," the man said, "how's it hanging?" and Castle immediately lashed out, belting the guy in the face with the cast on his left arm, knocking everything on the tray onto the floor.

He was half-way out of bed when Kate, Esposito, and Doc Wilson ran into the room. "Kate?" he asked in a raspy voice, clearly disoriented as he saw her.

"Rick, I'm here," Kate said. She put her arms around him to steady him and sit him back down on the bed, feeling his body tremble against hers. "It's okay. You're safe."

"I thought you were a dream," Castle said as he leaned his head against her chest, closing his eyes. "And I thought zombies and aliens were after us."

Doc Wilson and Esposito helped Ralph up off of the floor, and Wilson examined his chin. "You're fine – go put some ice on it." He looked over at Castle and Beckett. "I'll give you two a minute. Let me get someone less non-threatening to do this."

Beckett could feel Castle's body still as she stroked his hair and then he was suddenly pushing her away.

"Shit – you need to leave now," he said through gritted teeth and then bent over, groaning.

"Rick, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere," she said, kneeling in front of him to be on the same eye level.

Castle shook his head. "No, really – you need to go." He was silent for a moment longer and then muttered, "Apples, apples, apples," but that didn't help because now that word conjured up Kate's long legs and her black leather stilettos. "Oh, shit," he groaned again.

Kate moved to press the call button, but Castle stopped her.

"Writer man is very, very glad to see you and apparently has a mind of its own today," he whispered, still hunkered over, "but it's not feeling so well, and if it gets any bigger, writer boy may not be able to do anything for a long, long time."

"Oh," said Kate, as she sat back, realizing what the problem was since she had seen the pictures Mrs. Newman had taken of the crime scene. "Oh." She thought a moment. "Gates," she said suddenly.

Castle moaned. "Is she here too?"

"No, but Captain Gates is going to want to question you when you get back to the precinct – probably for hours and hours," Kate continued. "Just think of being all alone with Captain Gates in her office."

Esposito frowned as he walked back into the room. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yes," said Kate as she looked up. "I was just telling Castle that Captain Gates would want to talk to him for hours and hours when we get back, all alone in the same office."

Castle nodded slowly. Yes, that was doing the trick. He looked up and smiled at Kate. "You know, it's probably not a good idea to use Gates as our new safe word. I think that's a little inappropriate, Detective Beckett."

Kate and Esposito helped Castle settle back into the bed as Javi mouthed "Writer man?" at Beckett over Castle's head. Beckett gave him the look that told him if he ever said a word of this to anyone that he would suffer unspeakable torment.

Castle relaxed on the bed and closed his eyes, and then noticed that he hurt elsewhere other than in the obvious place – really hurt – and his face itched horribly. He reached up to scratch it only to have Beckett slap his hand away.

"Don't," she ordered.

"But it really itches," Castle whined.

"And scratching it is just going to make it worse," she replied.

Castle let out an exasperated sigh, and then raised his left arm up to stare at the cast on it. Oh, yeah – it had been broken and he had totally forgotten about it – it was amazing what heart-stopping adrenaline-driven fear could do for you.

"Hello, Richard, it's nice to have you back with us," said Mrs. Newman, dressed in scrubs, as she walked into the room. "And you must be Kate," she said, smiling at Beckett and shaking her hand.

"Yes, and it's a pleasure to meet you. I want to thank you so much for everything you've done," Beckett replied. "This is Detective Esposito."

Mrs. Newman shook his hand. "Detective, a pleasure to meet you too." She looked back at Castle. "Now let's see what we can do to make you more comfortable. We can't give you anything for pain until we get the toxic screen back and know that you're clean, unless…" she prompted.

Castle thought for a moment but couldn't honestly answer her question. The past several weeks had melded into a blur so he couldn't be quite sure what had actually happened. At the least, Clyde and Billy had smoked some very strange smelling weeds whose smoke gave him vivid, unusual dreams, and they had imbibed in the foul tasting liquor they would force on him occasionally that would make his head pound and his stomach roll.

Beckett watched Castle's eyes cloud over at the memories and gently touched his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay," she said softly.

Mrs. Newman pulled on a pair of gloves. "At least I can do something about that itching on your face," she said as she smeared a colorless ointment on her fingers and then gently spread it over his cheek, chin, and throat. "Looks like you found the poison ivy again, dear. You're fortunate that the ointment comes in clear now so you won't have to go to school with a pink face again. And you're fortunate that you didn't touch anything else this time."

She glanced at Beckett as she worked. "Richard's first camping trip with us was basically the camping trip to hell for the dear boy. Got into poison ivy and fire ants the first day there; sprained his ankle while climbing rocks; and the rain—we thought we were going to be swept away." Mrs. Newman finished and pulled off the gloves, disposing of them in the biological hazard bin. "But he was quite the trooper. He was ready to go camping again the next time my husband took the nephews. And that time, he knew what to look out for."

Mrs. Newman admired her handiwork. "Don't shave until the scabs heal completely; otherwise you could run the risk of scaring the area. Now, Detective Esposito, if you would mind stepping out? I need to finish with the other dressings."

Esposito put on his best "You're really kicking me out?" impression, but Beckett shooed him from the room. "Go wait for Martha and Alexis. They should be here any minute."

Mrs. Newman pulled the curtain closed around the bed and put on a new set of gloves.

"I thought you retired, Mrs. Newman," Castle asked as she moved the gown aside and carefully removed the bandages from his chest. Ralph had already undone the bandage in his groin area, which is why Castle reacted the way he had when he woke up.

"I did when Newt became sick, but I find I miss the company, so I've decided to work part time here. And it does have it perks," Mrs. Newman smiled at him and then tisked. "Ah, I see someone has already been a little frisky. What did I say about that?"

Castle blushed and glanced away. "Kate, you're meeting probably the one person in the world besides my mother who can tell the most embarrassing stories about my childhood."

Mrs. Newman smiled at him. "You were always a good boy, even if trouble did seem to find you very easily," she said as she finished and pulled the gown back in place. "There you go, and just in time because I think I hear Martha coming."

Sure enough, his ebullient mother burst into the room, holding onto a tearful Alexis.

"Daddy!" Alexis cried when she saw him, running straight into his arms. Castle held on to her with all his might, while Martha hugged Kate and then Mrs. Newman in a tearful, joyful reunion.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

It was two days before Doc Wilson was satisfied with Castle's condition enough to release him. Lanie, Esposito, and Ryan had already returned to New York, with Lanie driving the Ferrari as the winner of all 3 rounds of roshambo and Javi riding shot-gun, and Ryan delegated to flying a local to the nearest major airport and then catching a connecting flight home.

Kate was packing the bag she had gotten for Castle while they waited for the official paper work, which of course took forever since Doc Wilson and Mrs. Newman were at lunch. Martha and Alexis had gone to the hotel to pack and would meet them at the airport for the trip back home.

"Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett," Sheriff Sims nodded, taking off his hat, as he walked in the room while Kate was packing a bag she had gotten for Castle.

"Sheriff," said Castle, shaking the man's hand. "I want to thank you for everything you did. I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad it turned out well; I wasn't sure there for a while."

Castle paused. "What about Clyde and Billy? What happens now?"

"I'm assuming you'll be filing charges."

"Of course," Castle replied. "My lawyers have already started the paperwork."

"Then Clyde will be charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. McAlister said that Billy admitted to killing the store clerk," Sims looked down for a moment, "but Billy died of a brain hemorrhage on the operating table this morning."

"I'm truly sorry to hear that," Castle said. "Have you told Clyde yet?"

"No. We haven't."

Castle thought a moment. "Sheriff Sims, I'll do it if you'll let me."

Sims looked surprised. "Okay. And thank you for your help with McAlister. We knew he was into something dirty but we were just looking in the wrong place. We had the FBI run the picture of the boys that Edith had and got quite a few hits. He and his friend, Judge Brown, will be going away for a long time."

"Glad to help," said Castle. He turned and kissed Kate quickly on the cheek. "Be back in a minute."

# # # # # # # # # #

"So you've come to gloat," Clyde said belligerently as he stared at Castle from the hospital bed.

"No," said Castle. He paused a moment and said simply, "Billy died this morning."

Clyde swallowed quickly and shrugged. "Big deal. You're right – he wouldn't have done good in prison," he said with some bravado.

Castle stood quietly, watching him.

Clyde looked up after a few minutes, uncomfortable. "Somethin' else you want, mister?"

"I want to know what happened. Why you did this."

Clyde shrugged. "Uncle Abe said you should have been easy money."

"Do you always do everything your uncle says?" Castle asked softly. "You're smart – you've been looking after Billy your entire life, and you would have never done anything intentionally that would have hurt him, much less gotten him killed."

"Don't matter much now," Clyde said, looking away.

"I am pressing charges so you'll probably be in prison for a long time," Castle said.

"So?" came the reply.

Castle paused, wondering if he was doing the right thing. "I've talked to Sheriff Sims and he said that the prison you'll be sent to has an art program for the inmates. I've seen your work, Clyde, and Mrs. Newman and I would like to sponsor you in that program. You just have to let her know."

"Why would you do that for me after what I did?" scoffed Clyde.

"Let's just say I believe in the best in people, even if they haven't acted that way in the past." Castle walked to the door and then turned back to look at Clyde. "And you don't have to worry about Uncle Abe any more. He'll be spending the rest of his life in a different prison."

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Doc Wilson and Mrs. Newman finally came back to work, all smiles. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before picking up Castle's paperwork and scrawling his signature.

"Well, Mr. Castle – you're free to go. Make sure you check in with your family doctor and orthopedic surgeon when you get home to have things checked out."

"Thanks for everything, doctor," Castle said, shaking his hand. He gave Mrs. Newman a quick hug. "Thanks again for everything, Mrs. Newman. Let me know the next time you're coming to New York. You always have a place to stay with us."

Mrs. Newman hugged him back. "I'll be delighted to, dear boy. Now don't drive your mother too crazy. And Alexis is truly lovely; you've done a wonderful job with her."

They walked out into the hallway, Castle carefully using the crutches to keep the weight off his right leg which was once again encased in a walking brace. He was thankful that this time he wouldn't be confined to a wheelchair and just needed to rest his knee for a while.

At the same time, at the opposite end of the hallway, several officers were bringing Clyde and Abe out of their rooms to transfer them to the prison hospital, Clyde handcuffed to a wheelchair, Abe standing next to him.

Castle and Clyde locked eyes for a brief moment before Clyde turned his head away.

"Thanks again, doctor. I hope to see you in better circumstances in the near future," Castle said, turning his attention back to Doc Wilson.

Castle started to leave when Clyde called out. "Hey, mr. man. Ain't true, what Abe said. Billy didn't shoot the clerk – I did. He thought Billy was stealing a candy bar and pulled a gun on him. I tried to get the gun away from him so he wouldn't shoot Billy and it just went off. I didn't know what to do so we hid him and called Abe. He told us what to do when you drove up."

"You sorry son of a whore!" yelled Abe at him. "All you had to do was keep your filthy mouth shut."

Clyde turned on the man, knocking him over with his wheelchair and then toppling on top of him, pounding him with his fists.

The officers seemed a little slow in pulling Clyde off of Abe, but finally managed to subdue the young man and separate the two.

Castle took a deep breath and turned to Beckett. "I think we can go home now."

# # # # # # # # # # # # #


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes: Thanks again for reading and reviewing. You guys are awesome.

Disclaimer – don't owe Castle; Marlowe and ABC do. All characters are fictional as are most of the towns. Still rated M because of warnings about topics and once again, Castle endangerment.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

**The Call – Chapter 14**

The dating without bodies had gone well, the sex even better after Castle had gotten a clean bill of health at his final checkup with his doctor.

They were happy again and slowly made their relationship known to the world with several well placed pictures of them at events on page 6, Castle looking proud and Kate beaming as they had a quiet dinner in a well-known restaurant, as he escorted her to a black tie fund raiser, as they walked hand in hand at the park, the pictures always by a certain photographer. Castle made sure that the paparazzi didn't bother them at crime scenes though because that would comprise Beckett's work. After the initial flurry of interest, the world quickly moved on to the next big thing, leaving the happy couple mostly alone.

A few fans were miffed, to say the least, but most were happy that the writer finally got his muse.

Castle had even stopped by Jim Beckett's house one night to ask him a question and enlist his help in the proposal, part two.

He had it all planned – a family outing to the opening day of the New York Yankees with front row seats. One of the players would throw him a ball in the 7th inning stretch and he would catch it and then pretend to present it to Kate, but he'd really give her the ring then and get down on one knee to ask her to be his one and only. It was big and public, and he really hoped Kate wouldn't kill him for it.

He was pretty sure that Kate knew something was up because Martha was going also, even though she had stopped by the bar on the way in to see if her graydar still worked and would probably be there until the bottom of the 6th inning at least.

Giddy as schoolgirls, Kate and Alexis had their programs signed by all of the players and then raced each other up the stairs to the team store to buy mementos.

Eating a few bites of popcorn and thinking how nicely his plan was going, Castle idly watched one of the cleaning crew at the top of the stairs maneuver a large trashcan around. His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the man yanked harder than he intended and then yelled as he lost his grip and the can came barreling down the stairs.

It hit the rail with a thud and then flipped over, spilling the contents onto the ground.

There was a moment of silence and then shouts of "What the…?!" "Hey, that guy's dead!" and "Call the police!"

Yes, this was going just great, nodded Castle as he continued to eat popcorn.

The stadium police were already on the field when Kate and Alexis came back, wearing matching Yankee jackets and baseball hats.

"Hey, Castle, what's all the commotion?" asked Kate.

"Down there," he said simply and pointed over the guard rail.

"Is that…?" Kate asked as she looked over the guard rail.

"Dead guy," was the simple reply. Castle stood up and handed Jim the popcorn. "Can you hold this? I don't think there's going to be a game today." He turned to the man sitting next to him. "Have you thought about becoming a CSI? You might get more action that way."

He followed Beckett onto the field as she pulled out her badge.

# # # # # # # # # #

It was well after midnight when the call came on the burner phone that had been purchased specifically for this purpose. The limo sat in a vacant lot on the edge of the Potomac River.

"It's done," was the terse greeting. "Beckett is back with the NYPD and Castle is back in New York."

"Good. McAlister?"

"Accident with weights in the training yard – crushed his windpipe before anyone could help him. We've recovered the money. What about the boy?"

The woman thought for a moment. "He may be useful in the future, so no, nothing right now." There was a slight pause. "And do whatever it takes to keep Beckett and Castle in New York – I won't have them interfering with my plans."

She ended the call and tossed the phone into the river. It was unfortunate that Castle had seen them when he was in France, when they were someplace they weren't supposed to be.

And it was a shame that Castle didn't die while he was kidnapped. It would be much easier if they could take him out directly but that would alert certain parties to their presence and the outcome would not be good. They just had to keep him away from places where he might meet them and make a connection.

But for right now, this was good enough.

# # # # # # # # # # #

The End


End file.
